Mary Harrington considers whether artist payments funded by a proposed smartphone levy would reach those most in need or if, as with music streaming services, higher-profile creators would be the main beneficiaries.
Should the Government tax the sale of digital devices to support visual artists? Thousands of British artists, organisations, and visual arts industry workers have signed an open letter calling on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to do just this, among a raft of other new measures aimed at supporting the sector amid challenges from the digital revolution and an uncertain financial environment.
It is unsurprising that visual artists are nervous in the digital age. When someone can reproduce your work without attribution simply by clicking Ctrl+P, how is any creator supposed to make a living? Add in generative AI and the situation is dire. Not long ago, for example, the image editing software firm Adobe launched an ad campaign — presumably targeted at businesses — promising that they can now “skip the photoshoot” by using Adobe’s new AI-based generative background tools. In other words, Adobe is now boasting to one of its customer groups — businesses — about its power to replace another customer group, the presumably less profitable one of photographers themselves.
But is yet another tax really the answer? ... Keep reading on UnHerd.
Should the Government tax the sale of digital devices to support visual artists? Thousands of British artists, organisations, and visual arts industry workers have signed an open letter calling on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to do just this, among a raft of other new measures aimed at supporting the sector amid challenges from the digital revolution and an uncertain financial environment.
It is unsurprising that visual artists are nervous in the digital age. When someone can reproduce your work without attribution simply by clicking Ctrl+P, how is any creator supposed to make a living? Add in generative AI and the situation is dire. Not long ago, for example, the image editing software firm Adobe launched an ad campaign — presumably targeted at businesses — promising that they can now “skip the photoshoot” by using Adobe’s new AI-based generative background tools. In other words, Adobe is now boasting to one of its customer groups — businesses — about its power to replace another customer group, the presumably less profitable one of photographers themselves.
But is yet another tax really the answer? ... Keep reading on UnHerd.