Feed the artists, value their work

Feel Free to read this and comment. Hopefully, we can get a good discussion out of this text. 
October 1, 2008 Wednesday
Straits Times LIFE! 'quote'

Feed the artists, value their work

For art to thrive, artists' creative efforts need to be acknowledged and paid for


By Yong Shu Hoong, culture vulture


Watching director Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I was once again reminded of the clout 
he enjoys in attracting Hollywood stars to his projects.


Just check out the cast in his latest film - Oscar winner Javier Bardem, popular actresses such as Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, as well as veteran Patricia Clarkson.

Having made almost 40 films since 1966, Allen has worked with moviedom's A-listers such as Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Will Ferrell, Charlize Theron and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Not bad for someone who usually allocates a relatively low budget of about S$20 million per film and expects modest box-office returns. I would assume his actors accept only a fraction of their usual fees.

Of course, Allen is not just 'someone'. He is widely admired as an auteur. And in the name of art, foreign and Singapore actors alike would probably leap at the opportunity to work with him - even for free.

Now this issue of doing pro-bono work is something that Singapore artists - from musicians and illustrators to photographers and writers - have to grapple with perennially.

It is common knowledge that many local rock bands often do not get paid for gigs. There are instances where musicians have to cough up their own taxi fare to ferry their equipment to concert sites.

This year's Singfest was headlined by Travis and Alicia Keys, with about 17,000 tickets sold. According to a report in The Business Times, none of its local acts was paid to perform.

Another music festival, Baybeats, which drew an audience of about 86,000 people, paid performance fees to only established local bands such as Electrico. Other upcoming bands which won a competition for their performance slots received exposure but no cash.

From my experience as a poet - and I am probably speaking on behalf of fellow authors - I understand that Singapore writers have often been invited to give free talks or readings.

One excuse by event organisers for not paying writers is the lack of budget. This sets me thinking: Would someone use the same argument on a hawker and ask for a free bowl of noodles because he has no money?
Another phrase that some organisations like to bandy about is 'national service', especially when projects have some nationalistic significance attached.

For those who have served their dues in the Singapore Armed Forces, such requests for further 'national service' probably do not sound very appealing.

Fortunately, things seem to have improved in the local context, at least within the literary scene.
Schools have funds they can tap into to pay writers to conduct workshops and activities for students.

In line with practices of overseas literary festivals, the biennial Singapore Writers Festival pays both foreign and local writers for participating in talks, readings, performances and panel discussions.

For me, a particular embassy holds the record for being the most generous with payment for a literary debate. Otherwise, for talks and readings, the rewards range from book vouchers to chocolates.

Requests for freebies still come my way from time to time.

An editor wrote to me recently to request several published poems for an anthology on Singapore literature. The offer: Each contributor is entitled to a complimentary copy of the book.

Some e-mail discussions then ensued on the subject of payment for permission to reprint the poems.

The position of the anthology's publisher is that it is unable to pay writers either a one-time fee or royalties because the publication is not expected to be profitable.

Even if there are leftover earnings, the publisher made known its reluctance to go through the hassle of mailing cheques to about 70 authors involved in the project.

Usually, in a case such as this, the concern is not solely about money. One should acknowledge the publication's academic importance, as well as its prospects in calling attention to the authors' works.

In any case, it is always tricky and, some might say, vulgar, to mix monetary concerns with art.

But one can also argue, as my own publisher did, that payment for copyright should be at the top of the priority list when budgeting for the costs of putting out an anthology.

If the costs of paper and printing are taken into account, why not factor in the value of the writers' labour?
Perhaps, as a matter of policy, artists should always insist on honorariums - a nicer word to use instead of 'money' - no matter how small, from organisations that can afford such payments.

Where money is a problem, student associations and charities, for example, can respond with other goodwill gestures, such as allowing writers or musicians to sell their books or CDs during an event.

This is to make a point that an artist's creative efforts are not to be taken lightly or for granted. Of course, there are also full-time artists who truly need the money to make ends meet.

Woody Allen, being the artist that he is, once admitted that 'money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons'. Even he cannot get away without paying his actors something.

From concerts in the park to books in the library, art can be made free for all to admire and appreciate.
But artists do not have to suffer or starve just because their talents have not been budgeted for.


Yong Shu Hoong is a poet, freelance writer and Singapore Literature Prize winne