What is the biggest problem preventing artists from building a successful art business today?

The biggest problem is attention. As economist Herbert Simon identified in the 1970s, when information becomes abundant, attention becomes the scarce resource. Today we have endless options competing for people’s attention across countless platforms and channels. The fundamental challenge for any art business is getting your art in front of more eyeballs—without that visibility, you cannot make sales. This isn’t just a problem for artists; it’s the core challenge for growing any business in the modern digital landscape.

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Asked by general teaching point · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2021-02-20