The Economics of Art

Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen write anthems about the travails of the working man; we line up for the revival of “Death of a Salesman.” John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson hold festivals and fundraisers when farmers suffer. Taxpayers bail out the auto industry and Wall Street and the banks. There’s a sense that manufacturing, or the agrarian economy, is what this country is really about. But culture was, for a while, what America did best: We produce and export creativity around the world. So why aren’t we lamenting the plight of its practitioners? Bureau of Labor Statistics confirm that creative industries have been some of the hardest hit during the Bush years and the Great Recession.

When reading an article on Salon by SCOTT TIMBERG I was struck particularly by the above paragraph.  I know it's easy to look at artists (in their many forms) and pooh-pooh the notion that they are importantly contributing to society.  But let's explore a list of some that represent art in society.  Yes, there are painters and sculptors, but also musicians, writers (of all types). Producers, photographers, camera men, people in a variety of film and stage productions working in lighting, set design are all artists as wells as architects, actors, entertainers of all kinds. Publishers, dancers and choreographers. I could go on and on but you start to see that without these people life as we know it would get rather dull. No pictures, no movies, no theater or television. No music to listen to in drive time. Soon it would simply be be eat sleep and work... repeat.  No libraries to visit. No books of any kind  to read. Seriously folks, I'm getting pretty depressed just thinking about a world without these people.

So how bad is it for artists?  How many are we talking about? For the answer to this I turn to the Artists In The Workforce Study -  the first look at 21st century labor trends among working artists.

Some interesting facts:

• Artists represent almost 2 million people. One of the largest segments of the workforce... only slightly less then active duty military that are at 2.2 million and comprise about 1.4 % of the total workforce.
• Artists earn an aggregate income of about $70 billion annually. 
• Between 1970 and 1990 the number of artists nearly doubled.
• Between 1990 and 2005 the number slowed to a growth of about 16% which was comparable with the rest of the workforce.

• Some gender figures as they relate to the artist workforce - Men outnumber women in architecture, announcing, music, production and photography while women outnumber men in the fields of dance, design and writing. Yes, women outnumber men in writing. 
• Artists are entrepreneurial. 3.5 times more likely to be self employed.
• Artists tend to be underemployed and only work part of the year.
• Artists tend to earn less then workers with similar levels of education. In 2005 the median income from all sources was $34,800 only slightly more then the $30,100 median income for the total labor force but less then the $43,200 median for all professionals. 
• Artists are twice as likely to have a college degree then the rest of the work force. 

Perhaps if more people were aware of some of these factors there would be less of the "oh he/she is just a writer" mentality at work when people think about artists.

Kansas City at the Crossroads of Cultural Growth

In Kansas City, Missouri the Crossroads Art District has transformed vacated light business manufacturing structures into a thriving area. To the south of the Power & Light Entertainment area it offers yet another reason for people to go downtown at night rather then workers flee the business area for the suburbs come 5 p.m.

One of the  successes of Crossroads has been to stabilize an otherwise declining or at best stagnate part of the city. This has not happened overnight but has grown and in some respects once might consider that it has been enough of a success that for the new artist seeking a place to hang his or her hat & art, the options available may be tougher to find.  This has been the case in many other successful urban areas who have sought to revitalize areas by attracting the Bohemian demographic.

Such urban planning in many big cities began several decades ago. For Kansas City, the growth began perhaps less then ten years ago. This year however, the completion of our new center for preforming arts nearby is like icing a cake.

A New York Times piece by Elizabeth Curric-Halkett,  Where Do Bohemians Come From?  discusses the phenomenon of cities getting into the act of job creation in the arts. Currie-Halkett who is an assistant professor of urban planning acknowledges the success takes more than grants and tax breaks to make an art community that thrives. The Crossroads area in Kansas City had a lot of the kinds of structures that she insists are necessary for the success of such ventures, like oversized buildings, oversized doorways, lots of concrete flooring. 

I am well aware that the neighboring state of Kansas has battled Governor Brownback over funding for the Kansas Arts Commission. These are not easy economic times for any industry and people often look at the arts as one of the first places to cut. Going clear back to my days in school the music and other art departments were constantly fighting to maintain levels of funding much less come under the knife. 

There is this common portrayal of art as something for the rich. A frivolity that is not needed by most and therefore of less importance. Actually it is times like these when I feel that art has the most to offer. It is the distraction so many need from unemployment, foreclosures and food pantries.  Art is a human experiance and is most importamt at those junctures where humanity is most threatened.

I hope we see more successful art districts spring up throughout the country in the next couple of years and I sincerely hope that people everywhere get to experiance the art they deserve.

Kind of funny and not so...

Poetry Roller Coaster 0r the Ups and Downs of the Poetry Market

Last night my wife and I watched a DVD rental from Red Box. Out of respect to my wife, I will not mention the title. She thought it was so bad, that she remarked, "Dear God, the sad thing is there is a paper trail that links us to it."  It was in fact pretty bad, but as I reviewed what was available, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

More good news / bad news on the poetry economics front...

• Poets & Writers, a nonprofit literary organization, has received a $2 million donation to support its Jackson Poetry Prize, a $50,000 award founded in 2007 for emerging American poets. The money comes from the Liana Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Far Hills, N.J. 
• Staff Cut at Farrar, Straus & Giroux according to NY Observer these are only the beginning.

Cecilia Woloch emailed me with news of a new Literary Journal so I'm passing the information on to all my readers Check out San Pedro River Review.  I'll scoot over there and check it out myself and suggest our readers do as well.

It's getting late, I'm off to journal a bet yet for the night.

 

Technorati Tags: poetry exonomics,San Pedro River Review

Publishing & the Future

About a week ago I blogged on the the news that a major publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had advised their editors stop acquiring books.  This news signals that the economic meltdown has come to the publishing houses as well.

Another sign is renewed talk in the industry of the pitfalls of the book return policies by publishers. Allowing book stores to return unsold books is a costly expense. It requires the books to be transported multiple times and has become a hefty drain on publishers profits. Many of these unsold books will eventually be destroyed.

Booksellers resist changes in the credit arrangements that essentially guarantee that a book sells or will be replaced with another one which has the potential to sell. Many booksellers would dramatically reduce their inventories without such credits.

Such changes in the retail sales model could have negative consequences on a growing number of new writers that will find it increasingly challenging to find their way onto bookstore shelves.

Japanese publishers may be ahead of the curve. The Japanese publishing house Shogakukan Inc. has introduced a two-tiered distribution system for retailers.  Under this plan Booksellers can take books on a consignment basis which would be returnable at no cost or they can choose a non-consignment option, which offers a better profit margin for the retailer, but carries an charge if the books are returned. Such changes may be inevitable in the U.S. as well as long as consumers continue to prefer ink on a page they can hold in their hands.

Reports that the Kindle electronic book reader is sold out for the second Christmas season in a row would be positive news for those who believe the future of publishing is e-publishing. That future may still be some distance away.

Technorati Tags: Shogakukan Inc,Publishing industry,Kindle,economy,Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

A Bear Market for the Arts

  Under normal conditions the outcome of the Presidential election might well have been one to favor the arts.  There were signs that Obama acknowledged that art plays a significant role in society and examination of McCain's various policy statements showed his public policy on arts education to be quite contrasting. Additionally McCain had a well known record as he voted repeatedly to cut funding for or terminate the National Endowment for the Arts. 

But these are not ordinary times. Today is supposed to be the big retail day of the year and shopping results will likely be disappointing to those who mull over the the sales stats looking for a some kind of trend. 

The economy that is being transferred from the existing administration in Washington to the new President Obama is dismal. Employment figures are taking a beating. Sales of big ticket items, cars, homes, etc. are stalled and investments in traditional commodities and job creation are in decline. It is not likely that as the song goes, "Happy Days are Here Again."

Poets & Writers online features a story this week that  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt recently requested that its editors stop acquiring books.  We are talking about a significant sized publisher here.

In these hard times that are likely to grow even more worrisome in the months ahead, it is hard to see how the arts will likely benefit from much philanthropic activity if business are fighting for survival.

Small publishing houses who often find it hard to make ends meet will be challenged even grater. I can't imagine the state of writing grants improving.  These things surly will make the competition for those looking to get their first manuscript published more exigent.

It is hard to see the way out of this economic calamity that we are in, but I might suggest that if you are one who is still doing Christmas/holiday exchanges, you might consider giving a new copy of one of your favorite poet's works that was published by a small press.  It's a place to start.

Technorati Tags: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,Arts,economy,art philanthrophy,grants