New report into artists’ earnings reveals falling incomes and significant pay disparities across demographics
A new report released today by the University of Glasgow commissioned by DACS, reveals the extent of falling earnings for visual artists in the UK.
The UK Visual Artists’ Earnings and Contracts Report 2024 follows an independent study conducted by the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy (CREATe) and commissioned by DACS. The study surveyed over 1,200 visual artists across the UK, including photographers, painters, illustrators, sculptors, and others.
The findings reveal that the median income for visual artists is just £12,500 a year. This represents a 40% decrease in earnings since 2010 (£16,000) and is 47% lower than the income of full-time minimum wage workers (£23,795).
Key findings show:
- Median income for visual artists is £12,500 a year, a 47% decrease since 2010
- Significant disparities in pay across demographics, with women and other genders earning 40% less than men and disabled artists earning a median of just £3,750
- Over 80% of artists describe their earnings are 'unstable' or 'very unstable'
Researchers found that whilst 48% of respondents described their visual arts practice as their only occupation, because of low pay, 51% of visual artists continue to have to supplement their income with additional work. However, even with working several jobs, artists in the UK will still only earn a median of £17,500 a year, significantly below the national minimum wage. The report also reveals a shared concern across the visual artists interviewed regarding the unauthorised use of their work to train AI systems, which could undermine IP rights and contribute to a reduction in commissions, further impacting future earning potential.
Christian Zimmermann, CEO at DACS said:
Most visual artists are freelancers and despite being essential to the UK's visual arts sector, they are among the lowest-earning workers in the creative industries. Over 80% of all visual artists surveyed said that their sources of earnings are unstable, or very unstable. The widespread low pay and precarity artists face today pushes talent out of the sector, and limits the creativity of our artists. This report shows us in no uncertain terms that visual artists need greater support and protections to navigate the challenges of a changing world, whether that’s Generative AI scraping their work, income instability, or the rising costs of studio rents.
Additionally, the report reveals significant disparities in pay across demographics, with women earning 40% less than men, and a 70% pay gap between disabled and non-disabled respondents, with disabled respondents earning a median of just £3,750. These findings support new recommendations for the Government made by DACS, alongside more than 25 other arts organisations, to help support the UK’s visual artists and arts sector. The Visual Arts Manifesto published in June advocates for fairer pay and improved support structures for artists. Key short-term proposals include establishing the Smart Fund to generate collective licensing revenue and appointing a Freelancer Commissioner, two policies recommended by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in April 2024. The manifesto also calls for robust AI regulation to ensure remuneration and control for all artists, as well as financial stability and security for disabled artists.
Dr Amy Thomas and Dr Arthur Ehlinger (Research Leaders), said:
In recent months, AI has been at the forefront of concerns surrounding displacement of artistic labour. However, our survey shows that there are many other factors – new and ongoing – that impact how artists get paid. It’s clear that in the UK, the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with Brexit, have disproportionately negatively impacted artists’ earning potential. But we also see pervasive and systematic evidence of inequality – a large gender gap, and huge earnings disparity between disabled and non-disabled artists. These findings have troubling implications for the sustainability and diversity of artistic professions.
The UK's creative industries provide around 2.46 million jobs and have an estimated GVA of £126 billion, with the arts sector contributing £49 billion. In 2023, 91% of the population engaged in the arts, and the UK Art Market, worth £9.7 billion, is one of the largest in the world. This new report shows that artists’ earnings are at an all-time low, and the UK must find new ways of supporting artists, as outlined in the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s Creator Remuneration report earlier this year.
Mercedes Leon, an Illustrator based in Leeds, said:
As a freelance illustrator, you’re often having to negotiate to get a fair rate of pay, or accept a low flat fee to secure a commission. On top of that, studio rents and material costs – the bare bones of what we need to work – keep rising. It’s becoming harder and harder for illustrators, photographers, painters – for all visual artists – to keep working and this report shows that the level of pay for the majority of us is unsustainably low. When I first moved to the UK, it’s because I felt it’d be the best place for me to work as an artist; I’m not sure if that’s true anymore.
About CREATe
CREATe is the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy, anchored in intellectual property, competition, information and technology law. The name is an acronym for Creativity, Regulation, Enterprise and Technology. CREATe was established in 2012 as the result of a competition for a national centre for “copyright and new business models in the creative economy”. As the only UK research centre funded jointly by AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council), EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) and ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), CREATe conceived and delivered an interdisciplinary research programme at the intersection of law, technology, social sciences and humanities.
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