The Balance of Power - Part 2
Phew, what a day today. I really need to share or lighten the workload, badly need to get some good rest! (I see that now, tomorrow morning I may feel great!)
So yesterday I began the discussion of the balance of power, talking about who holds the power over the pricing. We came to the conclusion that while it will always be up the client who has the power to decide the parameters of what the artist will be paid through the budget they set, however we give artists the power to work the price they're happy with, backed up by our strategic tools to heighten their budget. Such as the crash course education to the value of art on our completed artwork showcase on the home page.
Here's the remaining power factors:
- Workload; The amount of work an artist can get. Who decides what work an artist will get.
- Fees; What an artist will get charged, regardless of getting work
- Extras; Do artists have to pay extra to benefit more or to 'get an edge'.
- Competition; How exactly do artists compete and what is in the environment
Workload
Workload is the next factor and directly relates to that e-mail I got. "It leaves artists scrambling for jobs" he said. In a sense this is true, but is this so bad? Before all platform development, the business planning, I had in front of me on my desk all the research I had done. Discussions with artists, quantitative and qualitative information, sections of key info from market reports, notes from all sorts of key members of the artistic community, such as Jazza (Or Josiah Brooks if you're familiar). I basically had all the tools in front of me and an idea in my head, because I learned of all the hardship artists experience I wanted to incorporate solutions to the problems artists experience, to improve the quality of work-life for artists. Basically I wanted to make things fairer on artists.
By my understanding of how most agencies work, most artists never get to know about the clients that the agencies are in contact with because they're deemed not appropriate for the client. Most artists are not given every possible chance to get the work they need, even though they're paying for it, if you're paying subscription fees perhaps you can agree with this.
So I thought, one way to make things fair on artists is to give them...perhaps it can be called freedom, but the actual ability to make the most of every possible opportunity to get work. In other words, show them all the projects that clients are wanting to commission artists for, give artists every single possible chance for work that they can get! So instead of the agency taking care of everything and holding the power, we hand that power to the artist. We give artists the power over their own workload. I thought this was a brilliant idea in a world where most companies don't give that kind of power to artists.
Fees
Fees. Fees, if you're an artist I'm sure you're all too familiar with this rather buzz-killing term. You've made some good money from a project and then, the fees come and take a big bite from your earnings. Sometimes it can be through a subscription, sometimes it is through a percentage, it could even be a fixed fee (Though I've never heard of that one before). The point I'm making is that no matter every time you benefit from a service, you're using that service from a company, it costs money because they have that power.
Now, when I was in planning I had thought "Even if an artist doesn't get work or any money, does the company they use still benefit?". Looking at most competitors the answer is yes, they do. Companies offering subscription based services are the clear examples, as time went on though artists were picking up on this and so a lot of these subscription services began to offer extras. We will go further into this later though. So most competitors will still benefit even when they haven't financially helped the artist (Providing work) that they're supposed to help. Where do you think the power lies here? The artist who sometimes wins, or the company who always wins?
I didn't want to base a company around what could develop into something self-centered. I wanted to build a company and put it's passion in the center; the artists. There are no subscription fees, because I didn't want a company that takes money from an artist that doesn't make nearly enough money. I've talked to too many of you guys who are in that position and that kind of thought kills me.
I designed this company in a way that it wouldn't acquire the power over artists, in the sense that it doesn't need to help artists when it can still dip it's hands into your bank account. This company can only survive when it helps you, our money only comes from 10% of what you earn. If we don't give you that work, we don't make money. Simple! We give the power to artists, the artists have the power over this company, not me. I just work to keep it running.
Extras
Ah, the little extras. I have to admit this is probably the smallest power factor but I still included it because it's still relevant to challenging the quote "It leaves artists scrambling for work". This is a pretty common tool used by companies to get more money out of a customer and is used in virtually all trades. "Do you want fries with that?" is probably a question you're all too familiar with (I know I am, I love Burger King and McDonalds!). Would you like fries with that? Yes? Well that'll cost extra. You don't even pay much thought into how much extra you paid (Unless it was an absurd amount!), you're just focused on those extra fries.
Same goes for the world of artistry companies. It's been a while since I've done research into this area so I'm a little rusty but I'm thinking something along the lines of "If you upgrade we'll regularly feature you in our newsletter that we send out to clients!". Some other extras could be being a 'Featured artist' or 'Featured portfolio'.
Anyway, I'm sure if you're an artist you can think about it and you'll recognise these extras. Now, don't mistake what I say, I'm not saying these things are a bad thing. If you get these extras you will almost certainly benefit in one way or another, you'll certainly get an edge over other artists that's for sure. You may even be on the front page of the website which is a powerful thing. Extras do give you power to a certain extent.
The thing is though if you're an artist absolutely struggling to make a living from artistry and you see all these artists having enough money to spend on getting an edge over an already weaker competitor, it seriously damages your confidence. I mean I've heard quite a few sad stories from artists who would compare themselves to these artists who do so well because they have enough money to pay to get an advantage.
Cutting to the chase extras don't promote equality, they're simply ways companies use to get more money from richer artists and those artists will get almost a permanent advantage over disadvantaged artists. I don't like that idea, yes it gives artists power but only to a certain type of artist. I can understand what these disadvantaged artists feel like. I'm don't have a lot of money myself, I've lived in council houses my whole life, I've faced many hardships which others don't simply because I don't have money. I have to fight damn hard if I ever want to make a big difference to my life.
But I can actually make a big difference to the artists I can relate to on this platform. I can try and enforce equality for all artists against other artists when it comes to money. There are no extras, I seriously dislike the idea of giving an artist an edge over artists on my platform simply because he's giving me more money. If someone came up to me with a wad of cash asking to be permanently featured or something like that on Hire an Artist, I would look over his shoulder to the person that isn't asking because he can't. That's the guy who I want to help, not the guy with the money.
So that's all I have to say when it comes to the power of extras, they're damn good for those who can afford it and certainly make a lot of money both the artist using it and the company providing it, it gives power! But I wouldn't use it on my platform because I think of those artists I've spoken to.
Now, it's 00:39 here. I'll leave this post here and conclude tomorrow on the power factor of competition. If you have any questions or want to share your opinions, drop me an email or get in touch through Facebook and Twitter! I love talking with you guys! info@hireanartist.co
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| Money outweighs the value of people with most companies sadly |
