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Rant - Pro-Arsehole Artists and Over Monetisation
2 years ago
This rant has been a long time coming.
One of the things that bothers me about where the internet has gone is how everything is monetised. As an example, having to pay £3 for an “app” that lets you see your FPS in game, or the entire concept of paid mods and putting mods behind a paywall. And I’m sure most people here are sick of art programs becoming subscription based.
While I obviously understand that people need to be paid, there’s a point where things become too much.
Which brings me to artists. I get commissions and Patreon and the like. It’s when people go beyond that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There are a few examples I want to quickly go over.
One time an artist was offering critiques on his discord. People would post pics and he’d give advice. When I posted there, their critique was two words. “Pay me.” and a link to their Patreon. When I asked why I had to pay and others didn’t, I was told that the others had a platform that could promote his work. I had no followers, therefore I’d have to pay for his time, even if it is just half a paragraph of text.
The second example I’ve talked about in depth previously, but the short version is there was a game jam where I pitched a cyberpunk FPS. People liked the idea, brainstormed some concepts, then went off to make the game without me. I’ve had this happen with tabletop RPGs as well.
Finally, there was an artist who disappeared for a while, but new work would occasionally appear on others' accounts. I sent a note asking where he posts his art these days, only for the response to be “I’m doing commissions now” and a link to his price sheet.
I get that people need to make money, especially these days where you’re expected to hustle, and have a side-hustle, and have a side-hustle for your side-hustle. I get that young people have grown up on an internet where everything is either plastered with advertisements or constantly demands your money. But there are times when the hard sell isn’t appropriate, and I’d argue that friendly interactions are one of those times.
I also notice that most of the time these people are so called “industry professionals”. Developers who claim to have worked with some major publisher or artists that aspire to work for some brand name company like Wizards of the Coast. I’m not sure what the connection is, but that seems to be there.
One of the things that bothers me about where the internet has gone is how everything is monetised. As an example, having to pay £3 for an “app” that lets you see your FPS in game, or the entire concept of paid mods and putting mods behind a paywall. And I’m sure most people here are sick of art programs becoming subscription based.
While I obviously understand that people need to be paid, there’s a point where things become too much.
Which brings me to artists. I get commissions and Patreon and the like. It’s when people go beyond that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There are a few examples I want to quickly go over.
One time an artist was offering critiques on his discord. People would post pics and he’d give advice. When I posted there, their critique was two words. “Pay me.” and a link to their Patreon. When I asked why I had to pay and others didn’t, I was told that the others had a platform that could promote his work. I had no followers, therefore I’d have to pay for his time, even if it is just half a paragraph of text.
The second example I’ve talked about in depth previously, but the short version is there was a game jam where I pitched a cyberpunk FPS. People liked the idea, brainstormed some concepts, then went off to make the game without me. I’ve had this happen with tabletop RPGs as well.
Finally, there was an artist who disappeared for a while, but new work would occasionally appear on others' accounts. I sent a note asking where he posts his art these days, only for the response to be “I’m doing commissions now” and a link to his price sheet.
I get that people need to make money, especially these days where you’re expected to hustle, and have a side-hustle, and have a side-hustle for your side-hustle. I get that young people have grown up on an internet where everything is either plastered with advertisements or constantly demands your money. But there are times when the hard sell isn’t appropriate, and I’d argue that friendly interactions are one of those times.
I also notice that most of the time these people are so called “industry professionals”. Developers who claim to have worked with some major publisher or artists that aspire to work for some brand name company like Wizards of the Coast. I’m not sure what the connection is, but that seems to be there.
I work in the business world, and part of my responsibility is managing project budgets. That means accounting for every hour charged towards different projects. So what the heck am I talking about?
On one hand, i can understand people charging for their time, even if it is just fifteen minutes of consultation. It is responsible as an approach to doing business.
On the other hand, I will tell you that this trend of individuals trying to become a "brand" rather then an actual person is absolutely soulless. A business mindset is about nothing more than money, and to being in that mode 24/7 is off-putting. I know at least one person in my personal life that matches your description, and its like talking to someone who had the soul ripped out of their flesh.
And I would argue that the larger issue here is the economical challenges everyone is facing in the world today. Almost everyone is desperate for more money these days, so it has forced people to scrounge for every dollar they can find. When a few years ago someone would happily give you a few minutes of their time, now they are going to slap a charge on that.
You've made a lot of valid observations in this journal. I do hope things get better, but I fear they will get worse before we reach that point.
I could understand charging for a consultation in a professional context. Like the guy in the first example, if I approached him and asked for his input out of nowhere, I'd get it. But it was a public discord server where he was giving those critiques for free in what seemed to be to be a casual, friendly way. There was no formal rules, or anything that implied it might be a quid pro quo. It's why I was so surprised when the paywall was mentioned.
I question how effective these hard sells are. I know it puts me off when they do that, and I'm not really a social person. I doubt it's good for the person doing it either, and I don't see it as sustainable long term.