I have had no problem taking money while it lasts. Nobody else is stepping up with a better plan to support me and my loved ones.
In general, I support the idea of wealth redistribution. I want more opportunities to equalize the piles of money in the world especially the ones that reduce the hugest piles and increase the piles for me and my friends. When I have money to spend, awesome artists, organizations and friends get money from me. Also, yes, Ikea, McDonald's, Starbucks, the US Government, Exxon and Bank of America have received money from me too.
I'm not very strict.
Maybe I will go on a big business diet. I do some of that, but I could do more and I'm sure I would feel good about it. Maybe I will make a chart sometime about who got my money in this life. Maybe a successful Kickstarter would allow me to pursue that further....
I have been lucky to not have to hustle on behalf of too much bullshit and evil in my life. I don't think I've ever taken money to hurt or cheat people.
A couple of times, things that I contributed to have connected with the market strategies of deep-pocket entities. In no way was I compelled to do my work differently in order to please people with money. To me, that would be the crux of the artistic question: "How is my practice being influenced by the market in a way that distorts or undermines my objectives?"
I respect Joey's choices. They seem to be part of her practice. She couldn't tell us she had refused some deals unless she had refused some deals. Her refusal gives her the occasion to tell us and tell us why. It also organizes her practice and puts her on the path to a particular place in the world with a particular set of concerns and experiences. These experiences are part of the raw material from which she can practice and produce art.
Sometimes, the best artistic practices are logical and make sense right away. Other times they aren't and don't. Right?
A world of only logical and perfect art would be a pretty artless world.
That's not a backhanded way of calling Joey's art illogical and imperfect, by the way. I'm trying to say that my respect for her as an artist and my impression of the quality and relevance of her work means that I do not need her to convince me of the logic and perfection of her practice.
All of a sudden I am filled with hope. I think we have a common thread of making art that is challenging to people. Also, I see that culture has a way of swinging back and forth between boundaries. Intuitively, I believe that in my lifetime more people will open their eyes to challenging art, music, images, performance, and movies.
DrJ: I think it's true what you say. Had I not turned down the offers, I wouldn't be able to tell you guys I did it. It sort of ties in to what LT said about how she is proud to stand by her ideals "maybe especially if it costs her something material".
It's a weird political pride. Sort of how I felt about being a vegetarian and how when I started eating meat again I realized I couldn't call myself a vegetarian anymore and it felt weird. I was giving up something which had been a part of my identity for thirteen years.
But DrJ, do you sometimes feel that by more artists selling their services to corporations we are giving them more power? I have been observing/fearing some sort of domino effect. Like we are desensitized to what Nike, or Levi's, or Apple and all the others do?
I just feel like nothing has changed in the way corporations proceed, but the way we have accepted them has evolved into this feeling of apathy, or in other words "I don't care, I just need money, man.".
I am going to think about your question @Joey. I am not sure I know what power is, at least in the terms of these kinds of transactions. Also, I'm not sure more artists are selling to Corps than previously.
If anything I think there is generally more suspicion of Corps and financial managers than ever before, I mean among regular folks (whomever that is.)
I am familiar with feeling like an outsider and with taking pride in "doing something for myself".
In several of the transactions I was involved in, I felt like the Corps were buying "weird stuff young people like". They felt they were lacking in knowing about that kind of stuff so they want to buy some of it to smear around on (umm... associate with) their products. Their purchase was an indication of their powerlessness.
In another case, Corps thought they were buying a stake in a magic money-making machine. They eventually made their money back but it took a lot longer then they thought it would. They were pretty much snookered.
Sorry, I will think more about your question.
In the meantime, I did a little research with the history of the US Consumer Price Index, the measure of the impact of inflation over time.
Based on my quick calculation, a $5 entry fee for an all-ages punk show in 1982 would have the moral equivalence of charging $12.35 for a similar show in 2012.
Yeah, but it's not like corporate suits are buying this stuff. It's agency creative directors, some of whom are quite nice and want to support artists they've enjoyed for years. This is their way of doing it.
Agency Creative Directors might be nice, but sometimes (frequently?) their work is straight up evil.
"Corporate suits" is kind of a fictional construction that gives us something we can position ourselves against to believe we are the good guys. Most people who do evil stuff (me included) are usually pretty nice and well-meaning. (Most homophobic tea party goofballs are too). I'm sure that the people who put William Burroughs in Nike ads in the 90s really did think they were being subversive/radical. This is the one part of that weird NYTimes article that I agreed with: amiability is marketable and frequently preferable to the alternative, but it's not any indicator of what team you're ultimately playing for.
When the sun explodes, all of this will be irrelevant, so party hard and fuck shit up while you still can! Eat at Chik-Fil-A and skip school with an alien bong!
Speaking of reward centers, I wonder if anyone else is interested in the psychological stuff that helps artists work.
I believe I experience a mild mania following 10+ hours of sustained concentration on any one single project. It evokes a feeling of increased excitement, organization, and general elevated mood. Maybe this is what is called the "second wind." It is very useful for obvious reasons. I entertain the notion that this feeling of reward has shaped the way I work. For instance, I started making video because I wanted an activity that would take up as much time as possible. When a lot of sustained time is put in, my brain responds by making me feel good.
In a recent profile of The Boss in da New Yorker, The Boss talks candidly about the psychological elements that have driven him at different levels (including self-hatred, which would power his 4-hour sets). He kind of touches on the big ego stuff, too, which I think is a very exciting, messy, fascinating aspect of specifically being a performer. The other day at band practice I had to admit to myself that a good portion of my energy is going into antics and trying to look cool.
I sit myself down and plow through, either enjoying the work or feeling frustrated or tired or whatever. Generally if results are good, I will enjoy and continue working and reach the elevated mania of WORKFASTERDOMOREWORKHARDERFUNFUNFUNFUNKEEPGOING!!! Forgetting to eat and take breaks, feeling so groovy.
If it's not going so well I will keep working, but end up grouchy and tired.
Whew--glad to hear it. After calling it quits yesterday at 12 hours, I was filled with a sudden craving to buy an iPod, and I was like "Am I a monster?"
For the record, I WILL buy an iPod. I need to listen to audio and review videos, a practice which takes up several hours per project. If I have iPod, I can do it on the bus!!! MANIA STILL WORKING, FEEL GOOD
On music, here is a free portal for EDM, Ektoplazm, that grew and now is trying to figure out the business plan that is self sustaining. My guess is that the musicians still get nothing, but I haven't looked deeply into their system.
"I sit myself down and plow through, either enjoying the work or feeling frustrated or tired or whatever. Generally if results are good, I will enjoy and continue working and reach the elevated mania of WORKFASTERDOMOREWORKHARDERFUNFUNFUNFUNKEEPGOING!!! Forgetting to eat and take breaks, feeling so groovy.
If it's not going so well I will keep working, but end up grouchy and tired. "
this describes my process as well, with writing/research/analysis.
I work very well also within a system of rewards where I trick myself into believing I literally can't have a Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered toffee bite until I finish this page/this book/grading this paper.
When I have had a good work day and been productive, I feel euphoric, like nothing can stop me, like everything I do afterward is just pure delight. So excited to eat, to have a drink, to go walk around, to pat the dog. Everything feels like a reward.
When I have a bad work day and am not productive, I feel like shit. I feel like I don't deserve to do anything. I eat poorly, don't exercise, and just sit around. It's all tied together.
WORKFASTERDOMOREWORKHARDERFUNFUNFUNFUNKEEPGOING is so real!!
Things that keep me going - Self hatred (as like a "Catholic thing" or "Protestant work ethic") - Wanting to impress people (following through) - Wanting to spite my past failures/people of the past - A feeling of debt to the world - Fear of death (finality of my identity's potential influence) - Curiosity and discovery (what amounts to an insatiable, frantic desire of knowledge) - Self-expression (funny to me because for the first 15 years of my development as an artist I thought self-expression was for the birds)
Things are related, but don't work for me - Self doubt (why is this so different from self-hatred? Feeling of certainty vs. feeling of ambiguity?) - Survival (simply being alive is enough to satisfy this raw need, which I view in the immediate moment rather than big picture... wish I was more driven by material gain) - Nihilism (this actually benefits self-expression, but hinders productivity)
In summary... I have a great big sensitive ego. But if I manage it properly, things go all right! That would be a good class for artist-types to take: EGO MANAGEMENT
Things that keep me going: - wanting to do a good job so I can get a good job and thus make a good, useful, soul-sustaining, comfortable life for myself and my family (material gain) - wanting to serve my students well and not half-ass their education (debt to the world) - wanting to challenge myself to do stuff that is hard for me, just to see if I can pull it off (wanting to impress people/myself) - curiosity and discovery, which is part of the enjoyment of a challenge - FEAR. Fear is a big motivator for me. Fear that I will look dumb in front of my students or in a job interview. Fear of being a failure. I dread being a failure, because elsewise what is the point of living, if you're just going to be a failure??
I don't really have self-hatred or catholic/protestant issues, thank god (lol) but I do have self doubt. I think self doubt is about, like, being realistic about who you really are. I know for a fact that I am not a genius, so then it's easy to be like uh....do I actually know what I'm doing, here, or am I too stupid to do this thing I'm trying to do??
ego management would be good for all kinds of people to learn about, not just artists. Egos cause so much weird grief/personal problems.
No doubt some may have seen this item circulating on the interwebs - " The next time you are asked to play for free… …send this email:
Ad: We are a small and casual restaurant downtown and we are looking for solo musicians to play in our restaurant to promote their work and sell their CD. This is not a daily job, but only for special events which will eventually turn into a nightly event of we get positive response. More jazz, rock and smooth type music, awound the world and mixed cultural music. Are you interested to promote your work? Please reply back ASAP.
A Musician's Reply: Happy new year! I am a musician with a big house looking for a restauranteur to come to my house to promote his or her restaurant by making dinner for me and my friends. This is not a daily job, but only for special events which will eventually turn into a nightly event if we get a positive response. More fine dining and exotic meals and mixed ethnic fusion cuisine. Are you interested to promote your restaurant? Please reply back ASAP. "
I wish there will be more opportunities like band in restaurant for musicians. I like how in the old days a band would be booked for 4 hours at a club, they would play a couple of sets a couple of times each, and they would play many covers. It changes the idea of music from watching an artist perform to providing a service ("decorating" a place by providing a certain atmosphere). If I were to open a hip club, instead of booking different bands every night, there would be only one band for the whole night and they would play on a certain day every week. My friend Mary does this now, she plays piano at Sengatera every Wednesday. They do this in Vegas. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like the audience is mostly people who want to talk to their friends no matter what type of show it is.
Rimsky's has quiet-type music. Some friends used to play there Tuesdays, and all our friends would meet up. Another good one rock-country-old timey is 6PM-8PM at the Laurethirst. Sure plenty more regular nights, especially in the jazz music realm. Sometimes a venue can have a kick ass piano, which one might not have at home.
its also relatively easy to set up on the street. i hear busking can actually be quite lucartive if the type of music and location gel well. thats how r kelly got his start.
Google just turned up its fiber to the home network in Kansas City. It carries cable channels. No way to know for sure, but wouldn't be surprised if they had to agree to change the search results to get the cable deal with the content owners.
With only four days left to meet the Kickstarter fundraiser goal, the SoundPuddle crew takes to the street to support the project and share the art. Help the kickstarter succeed! http://kck.st/MAu7oQ
"For $100 we'll send you an aluminum 8GB USB drive bottle opener. It will have a laser-engraved SoundPuddle logo, but more importantly will come loaded with pictures and video from the Boulder build days through the set-up and operation at Burning Man 2012."
SoundExchange collects royalties from satellite radio, cable and other digital streams. But many people haven't registered so when their music is played, the money just sits there waiting to be collected.
If you search this database, you will notice that many of our friends have money that is ready to be claimed as soon as they fill out the paperwork. Amounts range from $10 to $100000. Spread the word!
Comments
I've had a stamp collection since I was eight years old!
perdusdanslaposte.tumblr.com
In general, I support the idea of wealth redistribution. I want more opportunities to equalize the piles of money in the world especially the ones that reduce the hugest piles and increase the piles for me and my friends. When I have money to spend, awesome artists, organizations and friends get money from me. Also, yes, Ikea, McDonald's, Starbucks, the US Government, Exxon and Bank of America have received money from me too.
I'm not very strict.
Maybe I will go on a big business diet. I do some of that, but I could do more and I'm sure I would feel good about it. Maybe I will make a chart sometime about who got my money in this life. Maybe a successful Kickstarter would allow me to pursue that further....
I have been lucky to not have to hustle on behalf of too much bullshit and evil in my life. I don't think I've ever taken money to hurt or cheat people.
A couple of times, things that I contributed to have connected with the market strategies of deep-pocket entities. In no way was I compelled to do my work differently in order to please people with money. To me, that would be the crux of the artistic question: "How is my practice being influenced by the market in a way that distorts or undermines my objectives?"
I respect Joey's choices. They seem to be part of her practice. She couldn't tell us she had refused some deals unless she had refused some deals. Her refusal gives her the occasion to tell us and tell us why. It also organizes her practice and puts her on the path to a particular place in the world with a particular set of concerns and experiences. These experiences are part of the raw material from which she can practice and produce art.
Sometimes, the best artistic practices are logical and make sense right away. Other times they aren't and don't. Right?
A world of only logical and perfect art would be a pretty artless world.
That's not a backhanded way of calling Joey's art illogical and imperfect, by the way. I'm trying to say that my respect for her as an artist and my impression of the quality and relevance of her work means that I do not need her to convince me of the logic and perfection of her practice.
I think it's true what you say. Had I not turned down the offers, I wouldn't be able to tell you guys I did it. It sort of ties in to what LT said about how she is proud to stand by her ideals "maybe especially if it costs her something material".
It's a weird political pride. Sort of how I felt about being a vegetarian and how when I started eating meat again I realized I couldn't call myself a vegetarian anymore and it felt weird. I was giving up something which had been a part of my identity for thirteen years.
But DrJ, do you sometimes feel that by more artists selling their services to corporations we are giving them more power? I have been observing/fearing some sort of domino effect. Like we are desensitized to what Nike, or Levi's, or Apple and all the others do?
I just feel like nothing has changed in the way corporations proceed, but the way we have accepted them has evolved into this feeling of apathy, or in other words "I don't care, I just need money, man.".
If anything I think there is generally more suspicion of Corps and financial managers than ever before, I mean among regular folks (whomever that is.)
I am familiar with feeling like an outsider and with taking pride in "doing something for myself".
In several of the transactions I was involved in, I felt like the Corps were buying "weird stuff young people like". They felt they were lacking in knowing about that kind of stuff so they want to buy some of it to smear around on (umm... associate with) their products. Their purchase was an indication of their powerlessness.
In another case, Corps thought they were buying a stake in a magic money-making machine. They eventually made their money back but it took a lot longer then they thought it would. They were pretty much snookered.
Sorry, I will think more about your question.
In the meantime, I did a little research with the history of the US Consumer Price Index, the measure of the impact of inflation over time.
Based on my quick calculation, a $5 entry fee for an all-ages punk show in 1982 would have the moral equivalence of charging $12.35 for a similar show in 2012.
http://www.gbn.com/articles/pdfs/20120530_GBN_Perspectives_Gansky.pdf
Interesting, DWH.
"Corporate suits" is kind of a fictional construction that gives us something we can position ourselves against to believe we are the good guys. Most people who do evil stuff (me included) are usually pretty nice and well-meaning. (Most homophobic tea party goofballs are too). I'm sure that the people who put William Burroughs in Nike ads in the 90s really did think they were being subversive/radical. This is the one part of that weird NYTimes article that I agreed with: amiability is marketable and frequently preferable to the alternative, but it's not any indicator of what team you're ultimately playing for.
How much did you get from Hitler, Frogtor?
It's super easy not to eat there. All you have to do is EAT ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
I believe I experience a mild mania following 10+ hours of sustained concentration on any one single project. It evokes a feeling of increased excitement, organization, and general elevated mood. Maybe this is what is called the "second wind." It is very useful for obvious reasons. I entertain the notion that this feeling of reward has shaped the way I work. For instance, I started making video because I wanted an activity that would take up as much time as possible. When a lot of sustained time is put in, my brain responds by making me feel good.
In a recent profile of The Boss in da New Yorker, The Boss talks candidly about the psychological elements that have driven him at different levels (including self-hatred, which would power his 4-hour sets). He kind of touches on the big ego stuff, too, which I think is a very exciting, messy, fascinating aspect of specifically being a performer. The other day at band practice I had to admit to myself that a good portion of my energy is going into antics and trying to look cool.
I sit myself down and plow through, either enjoying the work or feeling frustrated or tired or whatever. Generally if results are good, I will enjoy and continue working and reach the elevated mania of WORKFASTERDOMOREWORKHARDERFUNFUNFUNFUNKEEPGOING!!! Forgetting to eat and take breaks, feeling so groovy.
If it's not going so well I will keep working, but end up grouchy and tired.
For the record, I WILL buy an iPod. I need to listen to audio and review videos, a practice which takes up several hours per project. If I have iPod, I can do it on the bus!!! MANIA STILL WORKING, FEEL GOOD
On music, here is a free portal for EDM, Ektoplazm, that grew and now is trying to figure out the business plan that is self sustaining. My guess is that the musicians still get nothing, but I haven't looked deeply into their system.
http://www.indiegogo.com/ektoplazm-2012?c=home
If it's not going so well I will keep working, but end up grouchy and tired. "
this describes my process as well, with writing/research/analysis.
I work very well also within a system of rewards where I trick myself into believing I literally can't have a Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered toffee bite until I finish this page/this book/grading this paper.
When I have had a good work day and been productive, I feel euphoric, like nothing can stop me, like everything I do afterward is just pure delight. So excited to eat, to have a drink, to go walk around, to pat the dog. Everything feels like a reward.
When I have a bad work day and am not productive, I feel like shit. I feel like I don't deserve to do anything. I eat poorly, don't exercise, and just sit around. It's all tied together.
Things that keep me going
- Self hatred (as like a "Catholic thing" or "Protestant work ethic")
- Wanting to impress people (following through)
- Wanting to spite my past failures/people of the past
- A feeling of debt to the world
- Fear of death (finality of my identity's potential influence)
- Curiosity and discovery (what amounts to an insatiable, frantic desire of knowledge)
- Self-expression (funny to me because for the first 15 years of my development as an artist I thought self-expression was for the birds)
Things are related, but don't work for me
- Self doubt (why is this so different from self-hatred? Feeling of certainty vs. feeling of ambiguity?)
- Survival (simply being alive is enough to satisfy this raw need, which I view in the immediate moment rather than big picture... wish I was more driven by material gain)
- Nihilism (this actually benefits self-expression, but hinders productivity)
In summary... I have a great big sensitive ego. But if I manage it properly, things go all right! That would be a good class for artist-types to take: EGO MANAGEMENT
- wanting to do a good job so I can get a good job and thus make a good, useful, soul-sustaining, comfortable life for myself and my family (material gain)
- wanting to serve my students well and not half-ass their education (debt to the world)
- wanting to challenge myself to do stuff that is hard for me, just to see if I can pull it off (wanting to impress people/myself)
- curiosity and discovery, which is part of the enjoyment of a challenge
- FEAR. Fear is a big motivator for me. Fear that I will look dumb in front of my students or in a job interview. Fear of being a failure. I dread being a failure, because elsewise what is the point of living, if you're just going to be a failure??
I don't really have self-hatred or catholic/protestant issues, thank god (lol) but I do have self doubt. I think self doubt is about, like, being realistic about who you really are. I know for a fact that I am not a genius, so then it's easy to be like uh....do I actually know what I'm doing, here, or am I too stupid to do this thing I'm trying to do??
ego management would be good for all kinds of people to learn about, not just artists. Egos cause so much weird grief/personal problems.
Never.
"
The next time you are asked to play for free…
…send this email:
Ad: We are a small and casual restaurant downtown and we are looking for solo musicians to play in our restaurant to promote their work and sell their CD. This is not a daily job, but only for special events which will eventually turn into a nightly event of we get positive response. More jazz, rock and smooth type music, awound the world and mixed cultural music. Are you interested to promote your work? Please reply back ASAP.
A Musician's Reply: Happy new year! I am a musician with a big house looking for a restauranteur to come to my house to promote his or her restaurant by making dinner for me and my friends. This is not a daily job, but only for special events which will eventually turn into a nightly event if we get a positive response. More fine dining and exotic meals and mixed ethnic fusion cuisine. Are you interested to promote your restaurant? Please reply back ASAP.
"
Also Justin Bieber.
Free money for people not banks.....
"Quantitative Easing"
Oh, yeah!
With only four days left to meet the Kickstarter fundraiser goal, the SoundPuddle crew takes to the street to support the project and share the art. Help the kickstarter succeed! http://kck.st/MAu7oQ
SoundExchange collects royalties from satellite radio, cable and other digital streams. But many people haven't registered so when their music is played, the money just sits there waiting to be collected.
If you search this database, you will notice that many of our friends have money that is ready to be claimed as soon as they fill out the paperwork. Amounts range from $10 to $100000. Spread the word!
for the time period of q2 2007 to q2 2012 i made $76!!!