- Self-funding -
Commercial Value
This brings us to the commercial imperative factor or commercial value in the industry for these creative works. It draws into a bigger social discussion about the value of art and how we value art in our community. Sarah says, “we really do live in a very utilitarian society at this time and there is a real emphasis on something needing to have a commercial model for it to be considered viable or worthwhile.” This is the main challenge a lot of independent self-funded producers face as they try all means and funding methods to get their work out on the sole belief of the potential success and passion, commitment and drive behind their effort. “So if you love what you do, it should be art and you should do it for free but somehow if it’s commercial you are not suppose to enjoy it and it’s a shame really that there is this feeling. But as the industry is under-funded, because they love this industry so much they are willing to work for free so people feel it’s justified to pay people very little. And that again is a tension I think a lot of people face,” argues Sarah. The commercial value often kills the experimental element behind it but without the commercial value, the practice is not sustainable therefore not a long-term revenue generating business. The two are indeed conceptually separate.
This is clearly supported by many cash-poor independent content producers in search for making their practice a profit making source of income. Susan Fox supports this claim and is Canadian writer of award-winning fiction novels that of “emotionally compelling, sexy contemporary romance” (Publishers Weekly). “Writing is an art, like painting, music, theatre, dance, film. Society needs art. Arguably, it needs artists as much as it needs hairdressers, dental hygienists, and chocolate-makers. All of whom get paid for their work (I know this for a fact, because I pay all of them). But artists are supposed to do it for free?” says Susan Fox, (Should Art Be Free, 2011)
Full article: http://www.bravaauthors.com/blog/2011/03/09/should-art-be-free/
Susan Fox's website: http://www.susanlyons.ca/
The main struggle with funding for Sarah also borders on the lines of funders not funding something that is of commercial value as clients willing to fund your project rarely wanted to fund something intangible, this was what she found was the main issue with online content in videos. They want to pay for something they can hold and not just look at (i.e. videos on the web). Secondly, funding is one-off, without any sustainability. Clients will only fund the pilot episode or that one video idea you are pitching to them. They will not fund your electricity, rent, new camera, lighting as these are not exciting things to fund at all,” explains Sarah.
This is clearly supported by many cash-poor independent content producers in search for making their practice a profit making source of income. Susan Fox supports this claim and is Canadian writer of award-winning fiction novels that of “emotionally compelling, sexy contemporary romance” (Publishers Weekly). “Writing is an art, like painting, music, theatre, dance, film. Society needs art. Arguably, it needs artists as much as it needs hairdressers, dental hygienists, and chocolate-makers. All of whom get paid for their work (I know this for a fact, because I pay all of them). But artists are supposed to do it for free?” says Susan Fox, (Should Art Be Free, 2011)
Full article: http://www.bravaauthors.com/blog/2011/03/09/should-art-be-free/
Susan Fox's website: http://www.susanlyons.ca/
The main struggle with funding for Sarah also borders on the lines of funders not funding something that is of commercial value as clients willing to fund your project rarely wanted to fund something intangible, this was what she found was the main issue with online content in videos. They want to pay for something they can hold and not just look at (i.e. videos on the web). Secondly, funding is one-off, without any sustainability. Clients will only fund the pilot episode or that one video idea you are pitching to them. They will not fund your electricity, rent, new camera, lighting as these are not exciting things to fund at all,” explains Sarah.
Challenges of a self-funding producer
Along with essentially generating money to kick-start your creative practice, other factors will develop as the processes pan out. We wanted to hear from a practicing online media producer of independent work the difficulties that she encounters so very often. Here are four examples of the challenges Sarah has encountered while working on her website for a year.
The regularity of funding poses a great challenge to many. Sarah explains how she does it, “I work part time and with the side jobs and salary I am able to collectively create new things for my website but as a freelancer you are often at the whim of people to hire you,” Next, protecting your property. With the Internet age, copying of content is riff and there is no way to control and monitor where your content is used on other websites. “I have spoken to a number of senior producers in mainstream media and non-mainstream and they have confirmed this mirroring of content is indeed widespread because everyone wants a good idea,” shares Sarah. Last but definitely not least, the lack of legitimacy in one’s work. “We have powerhouses and brand names in the media and often your brand names is not as recognize as other brand names. For example there you want to do an interview but along side you is a well-known media organization, who will they give the interview to? That is where you have to be very inventive and go above and beyond to get what you want,” says Sarah.
The regularity of funding poses a great challenge to many. Sarah explains how she does it, “I work part time and with the side jobs and salary I am able to collectively create new things for my website but as a freelancer you are often at the whim of people to hire you,” Next, protecting your property. With the Internet age, copying of content is riff and there is no way to control and monitor where your content is used on other websites. “I have spoken to a number of senior producers in mainstream media and non-mainstream and they have confirmed this mirroring of content is indeed widespread because everyone wants a good idea,” shares Sarah. Last but definitely not least, the lack of legitimacy in one’s work. “We have powerhouses and brand names in the media and often your brand names is not as recognize as other brand names. For example there you want to do an interview but along side you is a well-known media organization, who will they give the interview to? That is where you have to be very inventive and go above and beyond to get what you want,” says Sarah.