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Any why it's important to understand the money side of it
Do you ever wonder why some people make it without being the most talented? Do you ever feel like the artistry appears to not be the highest valued thing? Maybe other factors come into play too but you just don’t know what those are? You may call them luck but there may be more than that.
We are going to put the spotlight on this invisible thing that makes some extremely successful in the industry even if they’re not the best. This one is particularly important to me as I’ve been thinking about it for years, trying to figure out what is one of the biggest factors in this industry. Stay tuned as you need it.
The Art Side
Perhaps the main reason why we all get into the acting industry initially is because we love the art. How it connected us with our bodies, with ourselves, it gave us something to identify with. We had the ability to express ourselves creatively.
One of the reasons why I got into films and theatre was because I loved the idea of living many lives. I felt like I wanted to live forever so what better way to do that than becoming many people and living in their shoes. Their circumstances.
But that's not the only side to the industry, there is one more that many fear to talk about. and that is.
The Dark Side
Welcome to the dark side. That of money. Well, at least in the minds of many actors. There is this taboo about money for some reason and if you admit that you love the idea of making money in the industry then you must be some sort of a sellout. Not a real artist. There is this dream, this idea that artists need to be these pure souls, untouched by corruption. That they do it purely for the love of art. In my humble opinion - if you don't sell, you starve.
For years, I've heard this story over and over again.. If you want money then it means you don't love your craft. But those to me are not the really successful people. Talent takes up only a small portion of the whole package.
Of course, those are the people that shy away from asking for money. There is also another bunch, those who do it solely for the money. Those who only care about the dollar. They don't really care where the next project will come from as long as it pays. Those tend to get lost in the rut and it turns their craft into a job. Most of those people will completely lose their passion.
It's none of your fault
Truth is, we don't really get taught what our relationship with money should be. And how to strike a healthy balance between artistry and business. In all honesty, you need to make money in order to be able to do more of your craft. You need to pay your rent, pay your bills, food and water.
So, you get yourself a part-time job, or worse - a full-time job. Don't get me wrong, I've had a part-time job and a full-time one at some point. You've got to do what you've got to do. But the point I'm trying to make here that ideally you want to be making money solely from your craft.
Why you need to focus on making more money from acting?
Because you won't be spread so thinly and you'll get enough time in order to share some of it with your family, loved ones and other things you like.
This way, you can also focus on acting qualitatively. You may think to yourself that what I'm saying is obvious but bare with me.
The next really important reason is that you need enough bored time for yourself. Where your mind is left to cool down from the running around at max speed which is the normal state of it. Our brains are like a car's engine and if you're constantly at max speed, then you will burn out. It's inevitable.
Now, the question of the day.
How do you start making money?
By becoming more valuable for the market. I've been hammering this point in the last several podcasts and will do forever as it's something that I am obsessed with.
How does one become more valuable? You need to find out where you fit the whole picture. What's your tiny niche in the industry where you will be recognised for all your hard work. Where in film, TV, audio and stage are you best fitting so that you bring outstanding value to people who create in the niche or go and buy tickets?
You need to locate yourself and know what the best place for you to add value is.
And the beauty of it?
You get paid more. You get to do more of that. If you just know that you can be of value somewhere, you get there and make noise. And you’ll get paid a lot because people will recognise you, relate to you, connect with you and love you, and best of all- give you their money.
And you need to want their money. Not in a mean, deceitful way. But because you love bringing them entertainment, or food for thought and you want to be able to do more of that. But unless you’re paid then they won’t get it anymore. So you want their money so that they can get more cool feelings from you. People love to connect with you too, to feel part of your success. So, if they know that you're contributing to them by making them feel good, the want to give back to you by buying tickets to your show. They feel part of your success.
And you need to appreciate this. At the end of the day, it is someone’s audience that makes that individual a name with influence. If a tree fell in the forest but there was no one to hear it, did the tree fall? I’d argue not.
The name of the game
So, if you want to be in the game for longer, you need to be able to make money out of it, so you can spend more time with your own thoughts and creating the right vision for your future. You need to be spending enough quality time practicing your craft without worrying for other work. and you want to spend quality time with your loved ones.
When you achieve all this, you will feel even more fulfilled in your life so this will also contribute to the quality of everything you do. You will shine.
Can you imagine being able to do all this? Would you now be willing to look at money from this perspective? The one that allows you freedom to only think about and focus on the things that really matter? Now, money can be a good thing right? More of it can really improve the quality of your life.
Make sure you read my post on getting the right agent here.
Listen to my conversation with The One And Only Chris Tyler here.
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