What is the single biggest problem facing all artists, from beginners to top professionals?

The single biggest problem is attention—it’s a war for attention, period. Whether you’re a complete beginner or one of the biggest artists in the world showing at Art Basel, everyone is struggling for attention. Even the top houses were scrambling when shows were canceled, trying to figure out how to get eyeballs on their events. The currency in today’s world is getting attention and getting more out of the attention you have. Artists are often critical of other artists who sell more, saying ‘their art isn’t as good.’ But the reality is simple: that other artist solved the marketing problem and earned the attention. If you have great art but no attention, you’re going nowhere because you haven’t solved the marketing problem. Stop pointing fingers and understand that whoever has the attention makes the sales. Solve your marketing problem and you’ll sell more—it’s that simple.

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Asked by general teaching point · Answered by Patrick Shanahan and Nick · art-marketing-podcast · 2021-03-25