
Ask HN: Why artists don’t make money? - waqasaday
I have been observing that many of my artist friends and other artists outside my circle, don’t make a living off their art.<p>There could be several reasons for that. One is that artists who make &#x27;reasonably good&#x27; money are the ones who have their name&#x2F;brand out. So people tend to pay more to them over lesser known good artists.<p>What are some other reasons in your opinion?
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onion2k
People buy art for 3 reasons;

1\. They like it and want to put it on their walls. (This is most art, and
artists selling to this group need an additional income.)

2\. They're seeking the validation from their peers that comes from showing
you have "good taste". (Artists selling to this group can make a moderate
living but they won't get rich.)

3\. They're investing. (Artists selling to this group can get to be
millionaires.)

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brudgers
My neighbor Nan makes a living as an artist. For about three decades she
primarily paid the rent by working regular jobs. These days she works pretty
much every day as in seven days a week: painting, teaching, selling,
marketing.

She has decades of craft and decades of knowledge about what will sell and
decades of rolodex. It's a business. She still does art for its own sake and
it is way more awesome than what pays the bills...but what pays the bills is
what pays the bills.

One of the things about Nan is that you wouldn't know she's an artist from
meeting her. No black turtle neck, no angst, just the woman who grew up from
the child and went to the grocery store to buy milk when the kids drank it
all.

So what is the reason that most artists don't make good money? It's hard work
and luck and perseverance, like many other occupations and not like
programming is today in that there is not a lot of corporate demand.

