Saturday, October 6, 2007

Artist Services - Look for more from Publishers

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the current relationship between artists, their reproduction publishers and distributors - and the changing market landscape.
If indeed the person who buys art and art reproductions wants to get closer to the artist - to have a more direct contact - then that will mean a changing relationship between artist and distributor.

What sort of form could that take? One thing that seems obvious is that there will need to be a closer connection - where the artist and the publisher/distributor are working together as part of a team - not as two separate entities with their own role.

Another obvious is that it will have to be clear to the art buyer that the relationship is a close one and that they will not benefit from trying to "go around" a publisher/distributor to the artist - or even the other way in search of a better price or better service etc.

That means the team approach will include some key elements around pricing, contractual obligations by both artist and publisher/distributor, and a good understanding of what each brings to the market as a strength and ability.

This will by necessity be different for each artist. Many artists simply do not enjoy, nor wish to have much business contact with buyers around the business aspect of their artwork. However, there are others that enjoy this aspect of their career. As a result, individual and customized relationships will be developed with the publisher/distributor providing a list of services they can perform on behalf of the artist and the artist choosing from that menu.

I see an exciting time ahead and great opportunities for artists. I also see many of the current publishers having to reduce the amount of artists they work with in order to be able to provide a quality service to those remaining.

I noticed that thevgroove.com has a recent artist interview with Yukon artist Lynn Blaikie. I am sure many of you would find it interesting.

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