An Artist Pep Talk For Uncertain Times

Turn that existential dread into a masterpiece.

I was recently at a toddler birthday party in Los Angeles and was struck by how quickly every parent conversation unraveled. Most of the parents were artists, and there was a palpable existential dread. Massive industry layoffs! AI! Eventually, the conversation turned toward late-stage capitalism and the corporatization of art.

Y’know, small talk!

We agreed the folks at the top no longer seemed to care. In the old days, there was pride in making great commercial art from industry leaders—or at least the illusion of it. But last year’s SAG/WGA strikes revealed cold and indifferent CEOs.

And this, my artist friends, is why we need you more than ever.

Let’s talk about TikTok!

Media corporations love clutching their pearls over TikTok!

“Damn, the algorithm and our short attention spans!” they shout. "We’re losing our audiences to that damn thing!”

And listen. I think TikTok kinda sucks too.

But the reason it’s stealing eyeballs from these giant media conglomerates isn’t the algorithm or our dwindling attention spans. The reason TikTok succeeds is simple: Individuals.

Individuals are not beholden to shareholders. Not beholden to chasing trends or intellectual property. Individuals can simply create and release.

This terrifies media conglomerates. This is why they're getting their ass handed to them by a bunch of teenagers.

These corporations are no longer interested in creating great art and culture. They are only interested in short-term financial gain for their shareholders. And they’ll literally destroy their own brands to do so. (HBO Max » Max anyone?)

Patreon, Substack, and Kickstarter are successful because giant corporations have let us down. We’re desperate for something interesting and different. And we’ll pay creators directly for access to the good shit.

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So, here's my plea to artists reading this: I know your backs are up against the wall. But we need you now more than ever! We need the good shit!

But, Bobby, you say, I have a family. I need to earn a living. Yes, 100%. First, you need to survive. Do whatever you can to get whole. And find comfort in the notion that everyone, people you might not expect, is feeling it.

But once you figure out how to survive, I need you to find time. Wake up early. Stay up late! Create something that speaks to the moment and excites you.

Do it for you first. The rest will follow.

Let’s look at the alternatives:

You could pitch a concept to Warner Brothers. Maybe even base it on their most iconic intellectual property. Say, Looney Tunes. You could even shoot and edit the film with the best talent. Get great audience scores…

But, even then, you’re not safe. Even then, someone at the top could turn it all into a corporate tax write-off.

So, why play the game anymore?

For a while, audiences were resigned. This is just the state of entertainment! Everything has to be regurgitated leftovers and IP slop! But the audience is showing signs of fatigue—so much so that even Bob Iger admitted Disney is making too many sequels.

So — Forget everything you know about how a project must work. Forget structures. Forget institutions.

Be like Sam Pink, an author/artist who self-publishes directly to his rapt audience.

Be like Vivienne Medrano, whose animated series Hazbin Hotel was Patreon-funded on YouTube and created a bidding war at Amazon.

Be like Luca Galante, who developed the Indie Game Vampire Survivor with his own money and resources.

Be like Liam Finn, a New Zealand musician who live-streamed the making of his new album and cultivated a fanbase. (He plans to withhold the entire album from streaming platforms to actually sell an album!)

Be like Andrew Bowser, a filmmaker who forged a path online and successfully raised $610,467 to make a feature film. (It premiered at Sundance 2023.)

Yes, this means more work. More long-term planning and patience. But long-term planning is exactly what the giant corporations aren’t interested in. They’re playing checkers right now. So play chess!

The future of art is not AI and risk-averse executives. It’s passionate human individuals who see the crumbling institutions as an opportunity. Brick by brick, it's time to remake the art world the way we'd like to see it. It’s time to rekindle that spark that brought us all to this moment. It’s time to create and release.

Prove to the world you’re better than AI-generated slop.