"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."
-- John F. Kennedy
Ludwig van Beethoven is considered one of the first 'independent' musicians in the world, making his money from recitals, writing music and conducting, instead of depending on the patronage of the nobility most of his predecessors had to rely on. It was still a tough life, but supposedly he had his freedom to do as he pleased artistically and perhaps, considering what the options were that was also the case, for the time.
Now consider; How free is the independent artist? How free is anyone without enough money to live comfortably, not knowing how the rent is going to be paid, the food will land on the table or the children will be educated? Not very if you ask me. Not at all, to be honest. On the contrary even, to be blunt.
Personally I came to a point in my work as a singer where I got so totally fed up with applying for the grants to get sponsoring of my projects coming from outside sources that I desperately asked the heavens for a final solution to this peril. I felt so trapped and far to many times I had been asked to sing what others wanted to hear instead of me delivering what I had to give from my heart. I was independent, but not free!
The curbing of artistic expression is one of the most evident problems for the broke artist, but it is hardly ever addressed on any lager scale. It is as if independent means having no money, perhaps not even a decent place to live, when instead it should mean freedom to create what is most important to her heart.
There is the old, romantic myth of the suffering artist, creating better, deeper pieces than the one with food on the table. To be poor for anyone can be as stifling as imprisonment. But for the artist creativity is crippled on top of that when you can't buy the materials you want to experiment with, join classes to educate yourself further, travel to get influences from others, practice languages in foreign country's, eat properly, take a vacation, sleep in, visit the theater and so on and so forth. To make sure you have money as an artist is an important way to defend your artistic expression!
For me the way to solve this problem came with MLM. It might not be the route for you, but there are some elements that are very similar when it comes to reaching out to your target market and through an MLM-opportunity you can learn a lot about how to promote your artistic path as well, thus finding "multiple streams of income". Or rather a twin stream of income, as I don't believe in spreading yourself thin.
Use your art and the MLM-opportunity to become financially independent for real. I have been on stage all of my life, I know how to capture an audience. This skill comes to good use in a business situation. You can create your own presentations based on your skills, interests and what you know best. This approach might feel unconventional for you and it is too, but with all due respect to JFK, I think we have to set ourselves free by creating our own financial means of independence.
© 2012 Stella Scott
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Stella Scott is a Swedish opera singer, coach and Network Marketer. To hear her sing you can visit http://www.myspace.com/stellascott
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