Why is now such a good time to build an art business, despite the pandemic?

Several converging factors make this an exceptional moment for artists: technological advances allow you to reach and engage a global audience easily; you can ship worldwide affordably; live video lets you showcase work and connect with buyers personally; e-commerce adoption has accelerated by years due to the pandemic; people working from home are moving to larger spaces with more wall space; home decor spending is booming as people focus on their living environments; and traditional offline art sales channels are disrupted, forcing the market online where independent artists have more control. The combination creates what amounts to fundamental industry disruption—similar to how streaming disrupted music or how ride-sharing disrupted taxis. Artists who own their customer relationships and sales channels directly are positioned to thrive.

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Asked by an artist considering their market opportunity · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-09-29