Artists Speak from the Pew

Pew's Internet and American Life Project has just released the first large-scale study of musician and artist views of the Internet, called, strangely enough, "Artists, Musicians and the Internet." A national survey of self-described artists and an online survey of 2,755 musicians find:

Artists and musicians on all points of the spectrum from superstars to starving singers have embraced the internet as a tool to improve how they make, market, and sell their creative works. They use the internet to gain inspiration, build community with fans and fellow artists, and pursue new commercial activity.

Artists and musicians believe that unauthorized peer-to-peer file-sharing of copyrighted works should be illegal. However, the vast majority do not see online file-sharing as a big threat to creative industries. Across the board, artists and musicians are more likely to say that the internet has made it possible for them to make more money from their art than they are to say it has made it harder to protect their work from piracy or unlawful use.

Survey author Mary Madden writes:

American artists have embraced the internet as a creative and inspiration-enhancing workspace where they can communicate, collaborate, and promote their work. They are considerably more wired than the rest of the American population. More than three-quarters of all artists, 77%, and 83% of Paid Artists use the internet, compared to 63% of the entire population. Many site specific gains in their careers from their use of the internet.

52% of all online artists and 59% of Paid Online Artists say they get ideas and inspiration for their work from searching online.

30% of all online artists and 45% of Paid Online Artists say the internet is important in helping them create and/or distribute their art.

23% of all online artists and 41% of Paid Online Artists say the internet has helped them in their creative pursuits and careers.

4% of all online artists and 8% of Paid Online Artists say the internet has made it much harder for their work to get noticed.

3% of all online artists and 6% of Paid Online Artists say the internet has had a major deleterious effect on their ability to protect their creative works.

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Article Author: Eric Olsen

Career media professional Eric Olsen is honored to be the founder and former publisher of Blogcritics.org, and former publisher of Technorati.com, which both rule. He is now editor, co-founder, and CEO of The Morton Report.

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