Is it ever acceptable to work for free?
It’s common to value the worth of an opportunity exclusively on how much it’s paid. Yes, everyone needs to make a living — especially during this particularly tough time. Yes, it’s crucial to get paid according to your rate to survive as a freelancer. And yes, at SSSHAKE, we all know and agree that it’s a constant fight to make people understand that creative work is real work.
The creative industries are tough and competitive, and having a successful career heavily relies on your network. And sadly, many employers have set the tone that it’s the norm to be underpaid for years before you can get a decent salary. We all know it’s not a pattern that exclusively applies to the creative industries, but it’s more shocking in the creative space as creative work is often undervalued. The saturated and rapidly growing global talent pool gives employers the upper hand and often forces creatives to sell themselves short. That is fundamentally wrong, and we’re working towards changing that.
However, I want to draw a line between your practice as a freelancer and your wider practice as a creative. The reality of the industry has discredited collaborations between artists, as the difference between working for free and exchanging skills has become blurry. I believe it’s important to point out the difference between these situations and to shed light on the importance of collaboration within a creative journey.
“You got freedom of expression, make the most of it!” — Tolu Coker, Fashion Designer, Textile Designer and Illustrator, read the full article
Collaborations are about exchanging skills and ideas to create something bigger. Collaborations are about joining forces, about learning from each other, about equal opportunities and reward for all parties involved.
Fine artists and musicians have embraced the collaborative mindset well in the past, to stay inspired and widen their perspectives. From Salvador Dali working with filmmaker Luis Buñuel on silent short film Un Chien Andalou, to Lennon and McCartney working together on songs that changed popular music forever, dynamic creative partnerships are often the cornerstone of truly revolutionary work. But why is that? Because, collaboration enables new associations between ideas, often resulting in innovative combinations. Because, a team of people feeds more creative energy into your project. And having that team and support system can help gain perspective and push through the inertia that can arise at the beginning of the creation process — the well known “writer’s block” (which we all know isn’t only reserved to writers). And finally, the feedback you get from your creative teammates can also help move your project along in the right direction, overcome any doubts, and hold your imposter syndrome at bay.
Creative collaborations can definitely benefit all creative practices, but unfortunately, they’re not that common across all creative industries. Let’s take the design industry for example, where, most of the time, projects have a utilitarian purpose, and the benefits of collaborating might not be as instinctive. Same goes for the practices that have high equipment costs, like the film industry.
However, collaborating with other creatives can be extremely useful in expanding your skillset, as you not only learn from your fellow collaborators, but also have access to a space where you can genuinely try out new ideas, with little to no (professional) risk. And it’s these kinds of opportunities that enable you to grow as an individual, but especially as a creative practitioner.
“Collaborations are not just there to fill a gap when you are missing a certain skill or practice for your project. Collaborations are about making the other person even stronger. I think that’s the core value of true collaboration. But, you cannot just collaborate with anybody. You have to have some sort of similar understanding. Otherwise a collaboration won’t lead to the true, beautiful benefits and connection that it can actually bring. Yes, you can work with a random person and create what you want to create, but that doesn’t make you any better, nor does it make the other person better.”
— Jan Bernet, Photographer, read the full article
And so, accepting unpaid opportunities doesn’t have to mean being exploited. It can mean breaking the rules, challenging yourself as a creative, and experimenting with something new. It can mean an opportunity for you to test out a crazy idea you’ve had for a long time. But, unfortunately, I’ve met too many creatives that refuse to even look at unpaid opportunities once they start getting paid for what they do. And the problem here is, that by only accepting paid gigs, you end up always answering to a client’s brief, limiting yourself and creative growth to a client’s demands. When working with a client, the entire process changes. You have to make sure you translate their ideas as they imagine them.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s obviously the paid gigs that are going to pay your rent at the end of the month. But it’s also important to stay open to working on projects you feel passionate about, ones you feel will help expand your knowledge. Thinking about the creative process, answering to a brief in a very literal way to make sure a client is satisfied takes a lot of the fun away and stifles inspiration. When was the last time you created for yourself? The last time you broke the rules? Experimented? Played around?
As mentioned before, accepting unpaid opportunities doesn’t always mean undervaluing your work. Creating without being restricted by client demands or strict timelines is a beautiful thing. Expanding your portfolio to new ideas and media is always going to help strengthen your creative identity, at any stage of your career. And the learnings and growth that come out of creating freely with others is something we should cherish.
Feeling like exploring existing collaborative projects or helping someone by sharing your skills? We just launched a community page on SSSHAKE for you to connect with fellow members — Check out what others are up to.
Disclaimer: When you definitely shouldn’t work for free
Don’t take this article the wrong way: at SSSHAKE, we don’t endorse working for free for companies or projects that are intended for commercial purposes, ones where the “hirers” end up racking in a profit off the backs of creatives.
So be careful of what the opportunity is, who’s giving it to you, and what you’ll gain from it. Always check:
- Am I sure my work won’t be used for commercial purposes?
- Will you all be rewarded fairly if you make money from your project?
- No one is making money out of my work?
- Do I retain all royalties?
- Will I learn anything from this project?
- Will I have creative freedom?
If the answer is no to one or more of these questions, it’s not a collaboration in our book. Once you’re aware of all the information related to the project, you can make an informed decision and decide for yourself if it’s worth it or not.
Originally published at https://www.ssshake.com on September 18, 2020.
