|
Though I forget exactly whether it was Zaush, Adam Wan, or Wolfynail. Either way, one of the guys who's drawing thousands of dollars for an YCH and still pissing and moaning about it.
But if you want to talk about basic economics, consider the ideal market. Let's start with one seller "A". When "A" sets his prices higher (or lowers quality/value) the buyers start dropping away until "A" can't make any more profit. The price per value increases to what the market will bear - "A" maximizes his profit.
But then seller "B" comes along, and sells the same thing for $5 less, and being rational buyers everyone goes to B instead, so A has to drop his prices below B to win them back, and B drops below A, and vice versa until one of them finds it no longer worth their while and goes away. Prices tend towards the cost of production by competition, because as soon as A tries to pump his prices up again, B appears and drags him down.
This is the real point of the free market: to make sure nobody has to pay more for stuff than it's really worth, which is measured by what it really costs to have - not by what people are "willing" to pay like some insist.
The real world always breaks from this ideal for various reasons - some better reasons than others. For example: A and B switch tactics and start arguing "Don't pay him. He's an uninspired hack, I'm the real deal. My work is prestigious, my work is exclusive, only for the select few!" etc. and basically make a difference where there is none.
They lie, they make up bullshit to "differentiate" themselves, and the customers being irrational or ignorant believe this. Some side with A, some with B, and this allows both to increase their prices without competing. Then, the artists themselves being irrational fall for their own bullshit, feel themselves entitled to profit, and what A and B started the rest follow because none of the other artists went to econ 101 and they don't realize this game can only be successfully played if the players are few.
If many are trying to play the famous artist game, they're all competing for a sub-set of the potential market by trying to split it even further. Profits fall, the output of art is less and of lower quality, but this is a beautiful trap because -some- still make a fuckton of money out of their sycophants and so everyone keeps thinking they could be the next Miles DF or Kacey Miyagami etc. if they just keep their Patreon paywalls up and follow the leader.
Edited at 2018/06/25 18:14:06
|
