This article came across our radar a little while back, and it's repeatedly come up in discussions we've been having amongst ourselves and with others.

There’s no point in being talented if
nobody can see what you do.

– Zeller

Even though we don't really do any work with photographers (yet!), we find this article to epitomise what has been happening in all creative industries everywhere.

We live in an economy of 'give before you get', also known as 'the superstar economy'. This is not just happening for "traditional creatives" like photographers and musicians but also for designers and even programmers and other newer fields.

Even though Zeller has clients that pay for his work, musicians need to build an audience. And the only way to build an audience is to allow access to what you've made.

Banner photo by Zeller.

This is the idea that once you're a brand, you can charge a premium for your services or you can put a product in front of your audience that they want to buy.

But you only become a brand by putting yourself out there, your work out there, even if it starts off with little or no financial reward.

We've linked to two of our articles that talk about these ideas in more detail.