Recently, I went through a difficult interaction with one of my clients, a matter that was originally born out of misunderstanding which led to a fair bit of unease on both sides. The matter was centered on money. Basically, the difference of opinion was whether a payment was due or not. Because of the misunderstanding, each party held their opinions dear and felt righteously zealous about their view on it. Without further elaboration, I will summarize that the decision was finally made in a way that resulted in loss of money for my company and staff despite the work put in. I had made the decision to keep the relationship intact and to keep work going. But I was and am still left feeling a fair bit of dissonance about the matter. This is an issue artists and people from the fine arts fraternity face very often. Since the arts are considered a matter of indulgence and luxury rather than necessity, the attitude towards payments to artists is also treated as a luxury. Artists are often paid last and haggled down to the last penny.
Cancellations and postponements of events and engagements are common, with artists expected to accommodate date changes. If not, they lose the contract. God forbid, if the scenario was turned around and the artist were to do the same, the artist would instantly lose reputation and commercial opportunities. Somehow, we are unable to muster up respect for the artist as a professional who needs money for the very same things you and I do. To run their families, to pay their bills, and to have a little extra for the occasional indulgence. I find it quite hard to understand this lack of sensitivity. I have been trying to for the last little while, and with some difficulty, have come to a few thoughts on why this is the case.
Firstly, I feel that people don’t mind paying even sometimes in excess for things they feel are necessities. I heard recently from a student of mine who paid a ‘therapist’ with questionable credentials, an obscenely high amount of money per session just to be able to go and talk her heart out of anxiety. But the same student speaks of paying one-fourth the amount for her child’s art lessons as ‘expensive’ and ‘unaffordable’. So, therapy is perceived as being ‘worth’ more.
Secondly, as Indians, we are value conscious to the point of being sometimes unfair and miserly. We try to get the best deal out of everything because we view money as something to be always saved and not spent. So, the tendency is to just haggle everywhere. We have seen painful sights of flower or fruit vendors who have to justify charging as little as a few rupees more than what the customer thinks is the right price. Why doesn’t it strike us that those few rupees mean a lot more for the vendor than for us and it may be a kind gesture to just pay them? It could buy them a meal, or, over time, even a school admission for their child.
Thirdly, we feel we cannot haggle everywhere because there are people more powerful than us. Service providers in positions of strength, such as hospitals, who we cannot but pay. So, the frustration is then taken out on artists and the ‘less needed’ service providers. We are also okay to pay for branded items because somewhere the brand has managed to establish its value firmly in the mind of the customer. No matter what the explanation may be, at the end of the day there is something unfair in the way artists and musicians and treated. This needs to change. It can happen only if we can move beyond our own insecurities and pet peeves and think a bit about the other person as a human being who provides real value, and who has needs. As a person who needs as much validation as we do through timely and correct remuneration. As people for whom time and relationships are as precious as they are to you and me. When we can start to promote thinking in this direction, we can allow space for a bit more sensitivity and kindness to artists. A happy, validated and well-paid artist will most likely show their appreciation through genuinely sincere and good work. I think it is time we started trying this alternate approach to dealing with artists and discover for ourselves how a positive and generous attitude can benefit everyone. You never know; you might find a gentle kind space within yourself glowing in happiness at just making the beautiful soul of an artist satisfied and happy.