New York - not a town for artists
When traveling, I am often asked by people who live in other parts of the country what New York is like and whether or not they should consider moving here, etc. Often times, the conversation is focused on what a lively, crazy, energetic (fill in the blank) town New York is. The truth of the matter, though is that New York is no longer a vibrant destination for artists. And the reason is two-fold: 1) New York has become so expensive to live in that artists have only two choices, which is to live in some substandard ghetto or to spend every living waking hour working and 2) new technology has allowed media creators to be creators literally anywhere in the world, and they no longer need to live in big cities, such as New York. I will handle both issues separately.
First, New York has changed significantly over the past 20 years. I think gentrification is the applicable word here. Almost every single person I meet is a lawyer or financial professional. Even cool looking people who go to clubs are lawyers and financial professionals. New York is a town of big corporations, and more specifically big corporations who have merged and coalesced into oligarchies reigning over different industries. New York has always been the capital of the financial, marketing, publishing, media, and fashion industries. It's just as these industries have grown, so too have they taken over more and more office and city space, hence driving up real estate prices, in turn driving out of Manhattan anyone who cannot afford ultra expensive apartments, which happen to be the size of closets. From my subjective, unscientific viewpoint, it appears to me that more and more people are moving to New York to pursue financial careers rather than artistic careers. It's true that Wall Street was booming in the 80s, which was immortalized in films and books, but if 50% of people moving to and/or living in Manhattan were financiers, lawyers, and other assorted yuppies, my best guesstimate would be that 85% fall in this bracket now in the 00s. I have seen people move to New York to be artists, singers, actors, or whatever, then spend the next two years accomplishing absolutely nothing artistic while spending every waking moment shuttling back and forth between two grunt jobs, only to move back to Peoria, Illinois, or wherever else in middle America shortly thereafter. Bottom line is that being an artist in New York is tough and lonely- there is less of a community than before, and you're gonna have to bust your ass just to make ends meet. That is unless you end up in the cubicle like everyone else.
Second, the internet as well as reduced prices for digital equipment has enabled people from anywhere in the world to create decent quality content at low costs and distribute it worldwide, or at least be able to have the opportunity to market themselves worldwide. Sure, this is totally grassroots and can't compete with the media oligarchs, but many people have started this way and were able to launch their careers. Of course, it's been a small minority, but that's the nature of art and entertainment regardless. The point is that anyone living in Mississippi or North Dakota or wherever can now make a film, for example, with low cost equipment, that has production values unheard of before for that kind of money, get it into a major film festival (if it is good enough) and promote and market it on the internet for next to nothing for a worldwide audience. People who live in Mississippi or North Dakota or not in any particular advantage or disadvantage in regard to people living in New York City in this regard, for example. Maybe I would qualify that for filmmakers living in LA, since that is where the industry is located, but the benefits of living in NYC for DIY filmmakers is absolutely negligible.
Quick question: name as many musical bands and filmmakers who emerged out of NYC in the last five years as possible. Just what I thought, a tough question, there have been some but not many. Off the top of my head, the Strokes hail from NYC, but they achieved their kickstart in the UK. I honestly can't think of any other bands, but even if I could, here's something to ponder- for every band that you can think of that hails from NYC and achieved national recognition, I can think of twenty from other parts of the country. For every Strokes, there's a bunch of White Stripes (Detroit) or Killers (Las Vegas) out there. In fact, based on my observations as a music promoter (back in the day), I have seen plenty of bands move from NYC to LA because of the outrageous rents and lack of community here in NYC. 'Nuff said.
Why am I still in New York? Well, I've been here for 10 years now and I call it home. But I'm definitely not ruling out a move in the next several years, depending on how certain things shape up.
First, New York has changed significantly over the past 20 years. I think gentrification is the applicable word here. Almost every single person I meet is a lawyer or financial professional. Even cool looking people who go to clubs are lawyers and financial professionals. New York is a town of big corporations, and more specifically big corporations who have merged and coalesced into oligarchies reigning over different industries. New York has always been the capital of the financial, marketing, publishing, media, and fashion industries. It's just as these industries have grown, so too have they taken over more and more office and city space, hence driving up real estate prices, in turn driving out of Manhattan anyone who cannot afford ultra expensive apartments, which happen to be the size of closets. From my subjective, unscientific viewpoint, it appears to me that more and more people are moving to New York to pursue financial careers rather than artistic careers. It's true that Wall Street was booming in the 80s, which was immortalized in films and books, but if 50% of people moving to and/or living in Manhattan were financiers, lawyers, and other assorted yuppies, my best guesstimate would be that 85% fall in this bracket now in the 00s. I have seen people move to New York to be artists, singers, actors, or whatever, then spend the next two years accomplishing absolutely nothing artistic while spending every waking moment shuttling back and forth between two grunt jobs, only to move back to Peoria, Illinois, or wherever else in middle America shortly thereafter. Bottom line is that being an artist in New York is tough and lonely- there is less of a community than before, and you're gonna have to bust your ass just to make ends meet. That is unless you end up in the cubicle like everyone else.
Second, the internet as well as reduced prices for digital equipment has enabled people from anywhere in the world to create decent quality content at low costs and distribute it worldwide, or at least be able to have the opportunity to market themselves worldwide. Sure, this is totally grassroots and can't compete with the media oligarchs, but many people have started this way and were able to launch their careers. Of course, it's been a small minority, but that's the nature of art and entertainment regardless. The point is that anyone living in Mississippi or North Dakota or wherever can now make a film, for example, with low cost equipment, that has production values unheard of before for that kind of money, get it into a major film festival (if it is good enough) and promote and market it on the internet for next to nothing for a worldwide audience. People who live in Mississippi or North Dakota or not in any particular advantage or disadvantage in regard to people living in New York City in this regard, for example. Maybe I would qualify that for filmmakers living in LA, since that is where the industry is located, but the benefits of living in NYC for DIY filmmakers is absolutely negligible.
Quick question: name as many musical bands and filmmakers who emerged out of NYC in the last five years as possible. Just what I thought, a tough question, there have been some but not many. Off the top of my head, the Strokes hail from NYC, but they achieved their kickstart in the UK. I honestly can't think of any other bands, but even if I could, here's something to ponder- for every band that you can think of that hails from NYC and achieved national recognition, I can think of twenty from other parts of the country. For every Strokes, there's a bunch of White Stripes (Detroit) or Killers (Las Vegas) out there. In fact, based on my observations as a music promoter (back in the day), I have seen plenty of bands move from NYC to LA because of the outrageous rents and lack of community here in NYC. 'Nuff said.
Why am I still in New York? Well, I've been here for 10 years now and I call it home. But I'm definitely not ruling out a move in the next several years, depending on how certain things shape up.
posted by Michael at 9:39 PM
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