Why is the shift to e-commerce good news for individual artists?

The shift to e-commerce represents a massive power shift from traditional gatekeepers to individual artists. For decades, artists had to go through gallery owners, art shows, and art publishers who controlled access to customers. These gatekeepers owned the customer relationships and could capture the lifetime value—the average collector buys about eight pieces in their lifetime. Now, with more business moving online, artists can reach customers directly, own their customer lists, and build direct relationships. This is the rise of the micro-entrepreneur era where you can run a successful art business from home, whether you want to make an extra $10,000-20,000 per year or build a $300,000+ annual business. The democratization of access means the power is shifting to you as the individual creator, and you’re no longer dependent on gatekeepers who would take a large percentage and control the customer relationship.

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Asked by synthesized from presentation · Answered by Nick and Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-11-13