How Artists Make Money
"Starving artist" may be a cliche — but if most artists aren't literally starving, it's a fact that few make a real living with the work they love. In this series, NPR looks at how creative people keep body and soul together.
Jon Auer (second from left) and Ken Stringfellow (right) held The Posies together until the band broke up in 1998. Back together, the pair shares songwriting duties with Matt Harris (second from right) and Darius Minwalla (left).
The Posies: How Do Bands Make Money Now?
The members of The Posies were barely out of their teens when they got a record deal with a major label. Their power pop stormed commercial radio 15 years ago, but it's been a while since one of their songs hit the charts. The band keeps playing, though, and its members still make money from music.
Ghostwriters face a trade-off: stable writing work in exchange for credit on the cover and book royalties.
For Authors, Ghostwriting Offers Solvency, Stability
Authors struggling to hit it big on the publishing scene find that writing other people's books can open the door to financial freedom.
Tod Brody has found creative ways of earning a living in music by taking a wide variety of jobs.
A Flutist Makes Ends Meet With Music
Every year American colleges, universities and conservatories graduate hundreds of trained classical musicians. Only a small handful will be able to get full-time salaried work with a major orchestra. Yet flutist Tod Brody has managed to find a way to pay the bills with his music.
For California Dancemaker, It's All Step By Step()
August 18, 2009 It's not easy to keep a small dance troupe going, but Oakland-based choreographer Randee Paufve is managing to do it. She teaches dance, writes grants and chases individual donors. Soon, though, her formula will be changing — in a big way.
Life On The Fringes: It's Not Easy Being Scene()
August 12, 2009 For NPR's series on how artists earn a living, Neda Ulaby looks at a hardy, scrappy breed of survivors: performers who make a career out of careering across the country from one Fringe festival to another.
For Playwright, TV Gigs Make Theater Possible()
July 14, 2009 The play may be the thing, but the hard truth is that theater isn't particularly lucrative. Acclaimed playwright Theresa Rebeck is just one of many dramatists who pay the bills by writing for television.
Poetry
For Poets, A Labor Of Love (Not Money)()
July 7, 2009 It is perhaps stating the obvious to say that there is almost no money to be made in poetry. Some poets work as teachers, others in the corporate world. And even a Pulitzer Prize-winning former U.S. poet laureate needs a day job.
Artists Make Money By Forgoing Traditional Galleries()
July 3, 2009 It isn't easy to make money as an artist these days, but three crafty New Yorkers are managing to sell their work — and make a living — outside the traditional gallery system.
