It’s a tough situation. Like you said, we artist are compelled to do this, and would continue to do our work through almost anything. But in a world where appreciation and value are mostly measured in money, the lack of funds for arts sends a pretty heartbreaking message. I think streaming in this way educates people to devalue especially music, since it’s the easiest to distribute (a key reason Spotify chose music by the way - videos would’ve been too much work for them). Content creation also feels like a trap. Just another way to give free labour for exposure that seldom leads to appreciation in a deeper level.
Some others would argue that art, culture, and creativity are more natural to humanity (as opposed to being purely animal) and should flow more freely than imposing capitalist standards on how it naturally operates.
Masego lost his house in the LA fires and moved to Brazil and started making these video essays on life & creativity. He literally just posted this on the very subject:
I agree with that argument, and I've learned lessons the hard way on how to pivot between the two worlds (art vs. commerce). That said, there does come a point when no amount of knowledge, experience, etc. can aid you when the system grows more problematic by the day.
I'm fortunate that my house is still standing, but I feel like I’ve moved to a new headspace in recent months, and I can definitely relate to much of what Masego says in that video. Thanks for sharing.
It’s a tough situation. Like you said, we artist are compelled to do this, and would continue to do our work through almost anything. But in a world where appreciation and value are mostly measured in money, the lack of funds for arts sends a pretty heartbreaking message. I think streaming in this way educates people to devalue especially music, since it’s the easiest to distribute (a key reason Spotify chose music by the way - videos would’ve been too much work for them). Content creation also feels like a trap. Just another way to give free labour for exposure that seldom leads to appreciation in a deeper level.
Couldn’t agree more.
Some others would argue that art, culture, and creativity are more natural to humanity (as opposed to being purely animal) and should flow more freely than imposing capitalist standards on how it naturally operates.
Masego lost his house in the LA fires and moved to Brazil and started making these video essays on life & creativity. He literally just posted this on the very subject:
https://youtu.be/P2H0_-ymmTw
I agree with that argument, and I've learned lessons the hard way on how to pivot between the two worlds (art vs. commerce). That said, there does come a point when no amount of knowledge, experience, etc. can aid you when the system grows more problematic by the day.
I'm fortunate that my house is still standing, but I feel like I’ve moved to a new headspace in recent months, and I can definitely relate to much of what Masego says in that video. Thanks for sharing.