Half the struggle with artwork is convincing the general public that your price – which covers your costs fairly and reasonably – is worth it.

Most people assume that artwork is cheap, and don’t want to spend much on it. I work in puppetry, and most people think that because they can make a puppet out of a sock and some buttons, that you can produce something looking like a Henson muppet for the same cost.

The general public need to be as educated as the artist is, otherwise the artist (without realising it) lowers their costs to suit what they think their market will pay. And then they undercut themselves, all the while thinking it’s to their own benefit.

I may be a ‘struggling artist’, but I’m also an entrepeneur, and most of those I work with don’t at all believe in the myth of selling out, actually encourage correct pricing, chose to work in their field (and get swamped with projects – that’s the REAL trap), and don’t wait around for others to hand work to them.

It also depends entirely upon what COUNTRY you are in, as different countries have different market sizes in different fields. You can easily exhaust your money-making options touring your professional acting troupe to Australia for instance. Which is why so many Aussie actors end up overseas; which further reduces the opportunities for those who stay in their country.

I would say that the main reason artists fail in business is because most OTHER businesses also fail. It’s just that artists have less of an interest in doing the ‘boring’ stuff (ie. book keeping) and more of an interest in actually doing their art. Which is why so many smart and successful artists outsource their bookkeeping stuff…

Glendon hints at another thing: most new artists are also so keen to get their name out there that they don’t fully invest time in assessing the project. The number of times I’ve wasted money, effort, etc in chasing projects that fell through; people who were dodgy; projects that I ended up hating because it wasn’t right for me… etc. Artists need to learn to be choosy too.

As someone currently unemployed but spending every waking minute on my art and barely seeing any money on it, I think it’s also insulting to say it’s all about laziness. For most of us, I believe it’s all about finding the right path for US, and not SOMEONE ELSE, because there’s no guide to success for every single artist in their particular style and method of working (as much as the OP can try to convince us otherwise).

The draw of performing, working with other artists, growing as an individual creative entity often “feels” like payment on the emotional level, therefore some artists feel unable to charge a certain amount per performance, rehearsal, “gig.” The thought of “oh they want to work with me and like my talent, how could I ask for anything more?” gets in the way. It also often seems like you can’t place a price on one’s talent, and we’re often supposed to be “humble” as performers. We often need agents, managers, someone to name a price and/or haggle for the price of our talent, and if we don’t have those team members to speak for us, we’re often at a loss. There’s also the myth of “paying your dues” and working pro bono until you have a “name” for yourself, and thus can start charging any amount of money for your time, talent and effort. We as actor-singers get bitter at the thought of someone auditioning for the very first time and getting a high-paying role without “doing the time” by working for free for many years. But that bitterness comes from comparing ourselves to that “lucky” person, and does not come from any perspective of power.

Another thought is on the Education side: for the most part, in High School, College, and in any number of Acting classes (speaking only of my Los Angeles and New York experiences), it’s often the Business and Financial sides of acting/singing which are overlooked. Those who take even Business 101 or Marketing in college are more likely to understand how to incorporate the thoughts of being a mini-Corporation or self-managed business. I’m an intelligent artist, can follow instructions, plans and outlined rational thoughts, and even I’m sometimes caught frozen when thinking of setting my own price for a performance. But after looking at the thousands of dollars I’ve spent over the years on voice lessons, classes, training, travel, etc…I’ve learned that being humble about my talent, my work ethic, and my sense of self worth is just not a good business sense.

And I thank blog entries like this for filling in that semester or two of Business 101 that I didn’t get at UCLA…thanks for writing it and for the great comments!