This is the third and final part of a series of podcasts looking at the way we create, distribute, and interact with a post-industrial world.

Whether you’re interested in making a living in a creative industry or not, we all need to think differently about the future and accept that things have changed. There is no such thing as a secure job anymore.

Reality has been flipped. It is more secure to ‘pick yourself’ as we touched on in the last episode, than it is to put all your eggs in a single basket (one employer).

Placing responsibility for your income into the hands of one client is extremely risky. 

What happens if the company/organisation fails (as they do)

What happens if they downsize/cut jobs (as they do)

What happens when the company becomes so efficient that they can get a computer to do your role and any other role that you could potentially do within the organisation? 

It’s a big risk to hedge your bets with just one client (that’s exactly what an employer is).

You have to make your art. No one will give you permission to. You just need to do it. Learn your craft, practice, and build your influence. Create a platform.

If you do this you end up with the ability to choose how to sell it. Do you sell your art to an employer in a traditional sense? Or do you sell it directly to your audience (some might call this business).

These are the two choices that musicians, authors, painters, poets, film makers etc have nowadays.

A publisher can distribute your books in the way a record label can distribute your records. 

But they expect you to go out and sell them. 

Being affiliated to a record company doesn’t mean they will start magically selling. Artists have to accept this new responsibility to build, manage, and care for their tribe. If you expect someone else to do it then things wont last for long.

The best method of promoting your own work is busting your balls to promote and help other people. 

Help them succeed 

Share what they’re doing with your audience

Encourage them

Ask them if there is anything you can do for them

Because our natural human curiosity usually leads us to want to find out who the person is that is saying nice things about us. And if it’s authentic, sincere, and valuable we will try to find someway of giving back.

Tycho – A Walk

S1gns of L1fe – Aphelion

Lowercase Noises

The post #078: Creating and Distributing Art in a Post-Industrial World Part 3 [Podcast] appeared first on Sheep Dressed Like Wolves.