Unfortunately I’ve met a lot of talented artists, musicians , singers and other forms of creatives not getting paid what they’re worth , or having a hard time getting clients/paid for their work.
What common mistakes do you see artists make with their businesses?
What advice would you give creatives so they can break the stereotype of the “starving artist?”
Common Mistakes are; a lack of business knowledge, underpricing their work, ineffective marketing, Avoiding/Neglecting Networking and inconsistent branding. We often don’t know what we can get for our work until we see someone else get it. Artists often don’t recognize that friendliness and professionalism can be more important than living the life of an artist. There is a great clip on youtube where Akon the singer talks about how Eminem treats his art like a job, “He comes in at 9 .a.m. every day to the studio, takes his lunch break at 1 PM, and is out of there by 5 PM. It’s like a schedule. I did not expect that from him. The first day I come, I come around 6 p.m. I get to the studio, they said, ‘Em just left! He said, ‘I am out of here!’ I said, ‘I just got to the studio, you coming back here?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be back there at 9 a.m."
That is true, it is still a job even if it’s a creative path. Professionalism is an important skill, that isn’t emphasized enough.