What's the difference between a direct and indirect business model, and which should I use?

An indirect business model means selling through intermediaries like galleries (physical or online) where you don’t own the customer relationship—you get commission checks but no customer information. A direct business model means you own your customers, their email addresses, and the relationship, allowing you to market directly to them. You should build a direct business model. Successful artists making $100,000+ per year typically have 80-100% of their sales from direct marketing. You control your destiny, and nothing can be pulled out from under you. Indirect models built on galleries or marketplaces are like building a house on sand—when galleries drop you, algorithms change, or trends shift, you’re left with nothing. You can still work with galleries, but direct sales should be 80-100% of your business.

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Asked by general teaching · Answered by Nick Friend and Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2022-01-08