There are two stories you hear about making a living as an artist in the digital age, and they are diametrically opposed.

One comes from Silicon Valley and its boosters in the media.

There’s never been a better time to be an artist, it goes.

If you’ve got a laptop, you’ve got a recording studio. If you’ve got an iPhone, you’ve got a movie camera. GarageBand, Final Cut Pro: all the tools are at your fingertips.

And if production is cheap, distribution is free. It’s called the Internet: YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Kindle Direct Publishing.

Everyone’s an artist; just tap your creativity and put your stuff out there.

Soon, you too can make a living doing what you love, just like all those viral stars you read about.

The other story comes from artists themselves, especially musicians but also writers, filmmakers, people who do comedy. Sure, it goes, you can put your stuff out there, but who is going to pay you for it? Digital content has been demonetized: music is free, writing is free, video is free, even images you put up on Facebook or Instagram are free, because people can (and do) just take them. Everyone is not an artist.

Making art takes years of dedication, and that requires a means of support.

If things don’t change, a lot of art will cease to be sustainable.

We welcome friend of the Innovation Show and author of “The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech” Bill Deresiewicz, welcome back to the show.

Previous episode: Excellent Sheep: https://bit.ly/2ZlQ6OI

Bill is here: https://billderesiewicz.com/