Do you shoot photos or video, or write, for the …exposure?

I’m often pleased with the fact that, of all the terrible creative pursuits that could’ve caught my fancy, I got stuck with writing.

Sure, the written word is in a decline. Supposedly. Maybe not totally. Your dear BG is almost nothing but text. We’re getting bigger every day. Eventually we’ll rule the world. Or get a sweetheart offer and sell the fuck out.

Most likely the latter. Hopefully the latter.

I’m stoked I’m not a visual artist. Mostly because those types are beyond strange. They express themselves with images! What the fuck is going on there? Only slightly better than musicians.

“Do you want to know how I feel? Then listen to this.”

Bong bing ding bong bingdong bong! Ting zing boom blorp zip.

There’s also the financial aspect. Shooting pictures and video is damn neat, but so beyond expensive. You wanna be at the top level you need tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear. Gotta insure it, deal with breakdowns and theft and ever lurking poverty.

You need a damn good computer too. Gotta edit that shit up. Color correct, crop… other stuff I only vaguely understand.

Expensive way to create art that pays poorly. Bet your ass you’re gonna supplement income shooting weddings or kids parties or Instagram model shots for weird middle aged women desperately clinging to a youth that’s long left them behind.

Everyone is trying to steal your shit. I’m not even talking about outright theft. Ripping and reposting videos, pictures. Plagiarizing articles. Stealing screenshots from competitors then forgetting to edit out the caption. I’m talking about bullshit Terms and Conditions that use quasi-legal means to rob poor suckers blind

Writing, on the other hand, is cheap as fuck. All you really need is a pen and paper. Theoretically, at least. I loathe writing longhand. Love my laptop. Much quicker to type. Makes editing, what little I do, a breeze. You can grab a bottom tier ‘puter for damn cheap these days.

But one commonality, across the entire spectrum of creative endeavors, is that everyone is trying to steal your shit. I’m not even talking about outright theft. Ripping and reposting videos, pictures. Plagiarizing articles. Stealing screenshots from competitors then forgetting to edit out the caption.

I’m talking about bullshit Terms and Conditions that use quasi-legal means to rob poor suckers blind.

So easy to run a contest, offer up a pittance for first place, then reap the delicious runoff from everyone who fails to win.

I’m not gonna name names. No need. It’s common across almost every outlet. A symptom of the new bullshit crowdsource economy.

Except for The Surfer’s Journal. They don’t try to own anything. They just license use. Don’t try to claim ownership in perpetuity. They play fair, pay fair, and turn out a quality product.

An idea without execution isn’t worth much, but it is worth something. Ditto with your likeness.

If you’re a filmer or photographer or musician or painter or sculptor or writer or interpretive fucking dancer, and think you’ve got a shot of winning something, or buy the exposure lie, read your fucking contract. There’s a good chance you’re doing little more than giving up your rights, in perpetuity, for what amounts to little more than a lottery ticket.

And never forget, there’s all sorts of non-legal shit in contracts. Unenforceable provisions, outright lies meant to keep people from asserting their rights. Fucked up terms that seek to pass off liability while retaining profitability. Craven copy/paste skullduggery that won’t hold up in court, but is only meant to discouraged wronged individuals from taking legal action.

Hire a lawyer, sue the shit out of someone. Freelance heads set their own rates. If you allow people to steal from you you’re admitting your work ain’t worth nothin’.