Seperation of Commerce and Art
Some recent discussion with fellow artists has prompted the following reflection. This is not the first time I have written on the matter (here).
Money making and music making don’t equate to each other. The more we realise these are completely separate the better. I think there are many young people, like myself once, who get into all of this because they think that is how they can make money. You want money? Get into property. You want to make great art? These days there is nothing holding you back, so hop to it.
For people unable to make the separation between commerce and art these point have to be faced:
- 1. Your talent or unique perspective on culture is not economically viable.
- 2. If you need income then you need to skill/experience yourself in a “related area” to your creative interest, but not with music composition.
- 3. Don’t secretly hope you can turn this into your day job. You can’t. You can only hope for a day job that is related in some degree to your core passion. This is not the fault of your passion, rather, it is the fault of an economic system chosen by an elite who are into corrupted self-oppression.
- 4. In the extremely unlikely event you derive commercial sustainability from music composition then it certainly will not make you happy, it will not bring personal fulfillment, it will not solve any deep personal issues you have with yourself or the people in your life.
- 5. The event of or even the whiff of commercial success will bring with it all the aspects of ‘endless grief’ associated with dealing with shallow, greedy, rude, narrow minded people that thrive in fostering commerce at the cost of art. At worst you will adopt these personality traits yourself, rendering you to a life of stress and wasting your goodness as an artist and as a decent human being.
- 6. Commercially successful artists, due to the current economic model, make sub-par art.
What to do then after the above is acknowledged? This is my main point: people should be doing this with the core intention to produce the best art possible. The ‘best art’ is certainly debatable in definition, but nevertheless can be taken as a culturally separate distinction to commerce. Because of the long history during the 20th Century of commerce and music being so intertwined people will find it difficult to lock onto the essential separation. But once it is done, then we can collectively get on with the task of making the most amazing music possible, fostering a culture of soul and exploration.
Then, in the meantime while we are working on our craft, we can have a sideline discussion about ‘how does one earn a living?’. And perhaps an even more important related discussion: ‘how do we collectively establish an activist culture that works to challenge the systematic insanity of our society and suggest and implement a healthier alternative?’. That’s what I’d like to work on. And I think good that’s excellent soil for great music to flower out of.
It’s hard to counter the natural thinking of the ’starving artist’ mentality, or the cynical thought of ‘we are in an art recession’. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve woke up in the morning huffing that I wish I could write songs all day every day. This selfishness is unearned, and inefficient. Go back and read Point 2 and Point 3 if this is not evident. Furthermore I’d argue that it is an important social responsibility to ‘be yourself within the artistic act’ and make it without dumbing it down for commercial purposes. This aides culture, and promotes cultural activism and consciousness development. Don’t mind for one second that your work is too obscure or too dense for people to access – sometimes the gift given take a long time to be properly received. We simply cannot waste time worrying about crap like money, property or career. Get income sorted first so you don’t have to think about it. Then, as best you can, make some art that will cause our jaw to drop.
Of course, all the above is an ideal to hold, and likely not to be practiced perfectly in the immediate future. However, this is the desired intension, and something we should all work towards for the sake of our own sanity.
