5 ms·

99% of creatives have never been able to pay their rent by selling what they make. It's not even about how good they are - some people produce amazing stuff bu

99% of creatives have never been able to pay their rent by selling what they make. It's not even about how good they are - some people produce amazing stuff but it's not something that enough other people want to own (or listen to, or watch, or whatever). The lucky few whose creative spark happens to coincide with market demand get to do that all day long. For the rest of us, it's a day job to pay the rent (which might mean creating something that the market wants instead of what scratches our creative itch) or a life of poverty and creative freedom. This is not something that a change in the platforms is going to "fix".

baryphonic 6y ago
I wouldn't even say it's just this. Consistency, high quality (in terms of writing, delivery, production value) and a boatload of other factors matter, too. As does the ethos of "authenticity." Ben Eater and 3Blue1Brown are I think good examples of this. I doubt "the market" was demanding videos about higher level math with superb visualizations, or especially implementing a 6502 on breadboards, but these guys both made it happen. I doubt they're raking in the megabux, but they seem to be doing pretty well.
meheleventyone 6y ago
> It's not even about how good they are - some people produce amazing stuff but it's not something that enough other people want to own (or listen to, or watch, or whatever). This isn't even the problem. It's that to be successful you need to be more than good at your job you need to be great at doing a few other jobs as well. Namely running a business and marketing. And lucky in catching the break the propels you upwards. This requirement for discoverability, marketability and virality also changes the media significantly. YouTube is rife with ten minute videos, clickbait titles and overenthusiastic yelling. This is entirely on the platforms, their bid for retention to keep people watching one more video and how discovery and recommendations work. If you look at the wider industry of say TV and film you get a much wider array of successful content, supporting more people with more stability. I do think there is a version of YouTube that could result in "better" content whilst employing more people.
- chii 6y ago
  > If you look at the wider industry of say TV and film you get a much wider array of successful content, supporting more people with more stability. TV has barely any variety of content, compared to youtube. And youtube as an advertising platform is already bigger than TV.
- grumple 6y ago
  > This isn't even the problem. It's that to be successful you need to be more than good at your job you need to be great at doing a few other jobs as well. Namely running a business and marketing. And lucky in catching the break the propels you upwards. But this is a problem for all fields. If devs want to work independently, need to be good at business and marketing as well.
  - meheleventyone 6y ago
    Absolutely, I'm just describing the effects as it pertains to video and YouTube. Imagine the difference in content if we still allowed for independent content production without requiring the additional skills. YouTube has 2 billion logged in monthly users that's a reach that should make many niches viable. But seemingly not.
  - marcus_holmes 6y ago
    Devs are creatives, with exactly the same problems as any musician, artist, film-maker, or cosplayer (for example).
- marcus_holmes 6y ago
  I agree completely, but I wanted to draw a distinction between "the lucky few" who naturally make what people want to buy, and those who treat it as a job (and are excellent at marketing, business, etc). The idea that to be a successful creator you just need to be good at whatever creative activity it is, is pernicious and wrong. To be a successful creator you need to be either incredibly lucky, or actually a successful business founder whose business model happens to include creating stuff.
- redisman 6y ago
FalconSensei 6y ago
> some people produce amazing stuff but it's not something that enough other people want to own (or listen to, or watch, or whatever). This is very true. When I go to anime conventions, I see MANY people with incredible talents. And sometimes I do want to buy a poster or something. But, there's only so much wall on my small apartment to hang posters...

baryphonic 6y ago

I wouldn't even say it's just this. Consistency, high quality (in terms of writing, delivery, production value) and a boatload of other factors matter, too. As does the ethos of "authenticity." Ben Eater and 3Blue1Brown are I think good examples of this. I doubt "the market" was demanding videos about higher level math with superb visualizations, or especially implementing a 6502 on breadboards, but these guys both made it happen. I doubt they're raking in the megabux, but they seem to be doing pretty well.

meheleventyone 6y ago

> It's not even about how good they are - some people produce amazing stuff but it's not something that enough other people want to own (or listen to, or watch, or whatever). This isn't even the problem. It's that to be successful you need to be more than good at your job you need to be great at doing a few other jobs as well. Namely running a business and marketing. And lucky in catching the break the propels you upwards. This requirement for discoverability, marketability and virality also changes the media significantly. YouTube is rife with ten minute videos, clickbait titles and overenthusiastic yelling. This is entirely on the platforms, their bid for retention to keep people watching one more video and how discovery and recommendations work. If you look at the wider industry of say TV and film you get a much wider array of successful content, supporting more people with more stability. I do think there is a version of YouTube that could result in "better" content whilst employing more people.

chii 6y ago
> If you look at the wider industry of say TV and film you get a much wider array of successful content, supporting more people with more stability. TV has barely any variety of content, compared to youtube. And youtube as an advertising platform is already bigger than TV.
grumple 6y ago
> This isn't even the problem. It's that to be successful you need to be more than good at your job you need to be great at doing a few other jobs as well. Namely running a business and marketing. And lucky in catching the break the propels you upwards. But this is a problem for all fields. If devs want to work independently, need to be good at business and marketing as well.
- meheleventyone 6y ago
  Absolutely, I'm just describing the effects as it pertains to video and YouTube. Imagine the difference in content if we still allowed for independent content production without requiring the additional skills. YouTube has 2 billion logged in monthly users that's a reach that should make many niches viable. But seemingly not.
- marcus_holmes 6y ago
  Devs are creatives, with exactly the same problems as any musician, artist, film-maker, or cosplayer (for example).
marcus_holmes 6y ago
I agree completely, but I wanted to draw a distinction between "the lucky few" who naturally make what people want to buy, and those who treat it as a job (and are excellent at marketing, business, etc). The idea that to be a successful creator you just need to be good at whatever creative activity it is, is pernicious and wrong. To be a successful creator you need to be either incredibly lucky, or actually a successful business founder whose business model happens to include creating stuff.
redisman 6y ago

FalconSensei 6y ago

> some people produce amazing stuff but it's not something that enough other people want to own (or listen to, or watch, or whatever). This is very true. When I go to anime conventions, I see MANY people with incredible talents. And sometimes I do want to buy a poster or something. But, there's only so much wall on my small apartment to hang posters...