Laura Waddell asks: Is maintaining a social media presence the latest form of unpaid labour in the creative industries?
In the creative industries, is online presence the new ‘exposure’? The backlash against creatives being asked for work in exchange for exposure was arguably hastened by Facebook groups.
The phenomenon wasn’t new, and still exists, but when it was there in writing the deal didn’t look so good.
The pattern of exploitation was made visible when posts were shared to communities who could comment on them. Artists hoping for a profile boost would be encouraged to give away work for free, to some entity which could in theory provide an audience which might bolster the artist’s popularity, and eventually their bottom line, somewhere further down the line. In reality, exposure doesn’t pay the bills, and a stream of free labour hurts working standards for artists... Keep reading on The Scotsman.
In the creative industries, is online presence the new ‘exposure’? The backlash against creatives being asked for work in exchange for exposure was arguably hastened by Facebook groups.
The phenomenon wasn’t new, and still exists, but when it was there in writing the deal didn’t look so good.
The pattern of exploitation was made visible when posts were shared to communities who could comment on them. Artists hoping for a profile boost would be encouraged to give away work for free, to some entity which could in theory provide an audience which might bolster the artist’s popularity, and eventually their bottom line, somewhere further down the line. In reality, exposure doesn’t pay the bills, and a stream of free labour hurts working standards for artists... Keep reading on The Scotsman.