21/05/2024
Are you scared to die as a broke Artist?
The nice life on social media walls is tempting right? Well, it’s even worse for artists, eish, they are so impressionable sometimes.
Seeing celebrities flexing with their million rand houses, expensive clothes and whips compels artists to have anguish and a burning desire for the same.
They call it the ‘soft life’ after the famous song by Nomfundo Moh. This kind of life sounds desirable, but IT AINT REAL, it could be for some, but this soft life concept is exactly why artists die broke. The splurging sprees not the planning for the fees.
The problem is that some celebrities are not even artists at all, some of them are just famous puppets for the real industry runners. They are put there to make artists think that life is about drinking, parties and debauchery, and the poor artists just think that because this is what is going on that they have to participate. They can even go as far as changing their artistic mandate to match up with the fads and trends on the socials or the company policy. That is why they die broke, because they get carried away in absolute balderdash that is propagated in the media to enslave the masses with ridiculous gesticulations and jesting that they call art- and they forget who they are. What the ?
Here's another, artists rarely buy assets, most of the artists that I have seen and engaged with in South Africa don't even have laptops to start with, they operate out of school bags as if a school bag will magically transform into an office and draw them nearer to economic benefits and industry. It is a very sad reality to wake up to seeing the very people who are engineers of the social fiber, the pillars of culture and heritage, the drivers of the creative economy just sitting there suffering not knowing how to get by.
So today I write to induce some kind of wakefulness, to say look you as any artist should be able to survive when they have multiple revenue streams. An artist should never be really cornered by the rat trap. Unless you aren’t an artist to start with. For you to exist and strive in the world that is led by capitalists, big conglomerates and production companies that are only out there for your blood – you also have to be a tactical in your approach to trading with your most valued capital (your creativity).
Another point in case, when a production company ‘in their contract’ says that they are going to own the work, your image, your voice, your intellectual property for that particular project ‘to perpetuity’, it is then when your soul is sold to the devil, they own the asset and your creative contribution. Those kinds of gigs are okay – only if there is a lot of them, paying on time and you are in the business of selling your identity (brand)- it’s different strokes for different folks then. Just be careful when you sign on the dotted line – because you could end up generating continuous wealth for other people while you settle for a one-time cheque. That’s how the game is played, and that’s how artists get played, and yep, you guessed it, that is why they die b…
You are and artist, you can’t worship being broke, you have to develop a strong hatred for broke-ness because by virtue of you having access to the infinite and abundant streams of creativity, you are blessed and meant for prosperity. The broke artist syndrome is just that, planted in you by the beast that calls itself the industry, it’s called learned helplessness – they make artists believe that they have to exchange their morals for cash – we are artists, we are not in the business or selling morality for fame and fortune.
We can’t join the herd of goats that are stuck thinking carnality and frivolity are creativity – eish – this entertainment industry is devilish. You cannot work like normal people just to get by. You are not normal, you are extraordinary, not exceptional, you are pioneers, you think of things that they can’t think about, you can tap into ethereal spaces that they will only dream about, that is why they want to milk you and keep you broke. You are a creator – now let’s flip the table on this.
-Chefuism
