Marketing yourself has become one of the most important skills to have nowadays. We are taught to take our interests and figure out ways to monetize them, causing us to value our interests and hobbies based on profitability. Interests that may not result in monetary compensation are seen as a waste of time. Our desire to monetize our skills is not specific to our generation, though. I’m sure your parents have tried to get you interested in hobbies that they feel will financially benefit you in the future. This capitalistic mindset has us all scrambling to find something about ourselves that we can sell. It's one of the reasons why rising artists often get the short end of the stick.

Without recognition, aspiring artists simply aren’t taken seriously. Since the general public has placed a low demand for artists, they are seen as disposable by default. So, despite the work they put in in promoting and marketing themselves and their work, they are still met with constant scrutiny from people devaluing their work. This makes it even more difficult for artists to gain recognition. People say that the industry is harsh and unforgiving because of the influx of artists, but they fail to see the actual issue. Of course, there are many artists that want to make a career out of it. There are also many people that want to become doctors or lawyers. But, for some reason, aspiring artists are burdened with the notion that their art is inherently bad if they aren’t recognized. It’s ridiculous because you wouldn’t assume that a law student is terrible at being a lawyer since they aren’t with an official law firm. Even though aspiring artists are also striving to improve and master their work, they aren’t given nearly the same respect.

The industry (mostly large corporations) is primarily to blame for this. They try to make it seem as though artists are unwanted when in actuality they are so heavily relied upon by the general public. Art is everywhere, from the logos to t-shirt designs to billboards. Music, illustrations, animations, and films are so intertwined in our daily lives that it would be jarring if one of these were missing.

The industry has successfully convinced the general public of one false narrative: art is easy to create and, because it is easy, there are millions of people trying to make an easy buck off of it, making art worthless unless its worth is proven through monetary gain. This statement is incorrect and also incredibly problematic for any art institution or school trying to encourage young aspiring artists. These things create a certain stigma around institutions and programs that encourage students to pursue art, an expectation of failure and financial instability. Sometimes it can cause people to almost avoid them completely even if they are interested in pursuing it. This also discourages future artists because they think there is a low demand for art. Even the most talented artists can lose confidence when presented with the idea that we have collectively lost faith in aspiring artists. It’s damaging to artists but beneficial to companies trying to hire them. Record labels can trap musicians into contracts while also underpaying them or controlling their profits because it is set up for them to get taken advantage of. Companies can also try to use work for exposure instead of actually paying artists because they know that recognition is so vital. Corporations have created an environment where this sort of corruption can flourish and even be accepted as commonplace by artists hired.

Encouraging fellow artists to pursue their careers is one small thing we can do to help. It’s not much but at the very least it can present the idea of it being possible. We should be able to enjoy our interests without the threat of becoming impoverished but I guess some would disagree. I hope one day we’ll have better institutions in place for freelance artists to give them more power.