The Cost of Art

Erin McKweon always makes me think. I mean, her music makes me dance, but her newsletter makes me think. She recently wrote about the cost of creating art. Yes, there are the very visible outliers — the Taylor Swifts and the George Clooneys of the world. But the vast majority of people who create the art we consume do not live a life of private planes and lake houses.

She quickly gets to the heart of the matter: “So many people enjoy art so blithely without realizing what it costs, financially and emotionally, to provide it.”

I think about this every time I see a two-star or one-star review on Goodreads. I saw one yesterday — “not well-written.” That was the whole review accompanying a one-star rating. Maybe it was. It wasn’t a book I read. But I think about that author reading that review and thinking about all of the things she didn’t do while she was writing the book for other people’s entertainment or elucidation. Maybe she made a couple thousand on the experience. Or maybe not even that much. Many publishers have stopped giving advances, so you only get a fraction of what you sell.

When I look at my bookshelves, peruse my ongoing music playlist, attend the theater or the symphony, or even watch a television show, I notice that the vast majority of what I consume is created by people who do not own second homes, and as Erin would point out, may not own first homes. The point of creating art is not to get rich. But we should pay the entertainment providers a living wage. Just food for thought.