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Why do so many artists struggle financially or remain 'starving artists'?

Artists struggle financially because they’re always reliant on third parties and never own their own customers. When you depend on galleries or online marketplaces, you never build a direct business where you control customer relationships. This prevents you from generating consistent income. To build consistent income in any business or industry, you must build it direct—own your audience and customer relationships rather than being subject to others who can drop you or change terms at any time.


Asked by an artist wondering about financial stability · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-06-11