The Financial Landscape:
Earning a profession within the arts can be a daunting and confidence-knocking Process. As artists, we consider our work not as a vocation but a vacation. Art comes from an instinct within; when this is commercialised and squeezed into a capitalistic system, it can feel unnatural and unwarranted.
In-House VS Freelance Work Experience:
My current vocation is a part-time sound assistant at an in-house post-production company. Despite earning a consistent and steady income, my wage is determined by the company’s achievements and success. This personally affects me as I am out of control of what I can achieve financially. Despite my accomplishments, my progress is bound down by team effort and company strategy. However, working in-house provides you with a sense of security to an extent. Having a steady income ensures that I will receive a paycheck at the end of every month and gives me a foundational understanding of what I can budget for each month. Expenses like memberships, rent and bills can be measured against a salary.
Despite financial terms, working in-house as an artist provides me with a variety of work, where I can improve and expand my sonic knowledge. Working as a freelance artist means that your work is determined by your artistic identity. This can become limiting to the variety of work you receive. Directors and producers determine your sound abilities based upon recent work and styles you may have shown in your repertoire, rather than what you can do. Eventually, many freelance artists find themselves in a specific genre of film or a style of sound work. Although working in-house can reduce your artistic profile and identity, it can provide an undefined repetition of work.
Freelance can provide financial gain despite its uncertainty. According to a Reddit forum where freelancers and in-house artists discussed, the outcome showed that freelance workers can gain 15-25% more money for the same work you would do in-house. As well as financial positives, the flexibility and control over scheduling can be highly beneficial to a lot of artists. To make art comes from a natural pulse within. Having freedom over your working hours can prove valuable results in the art you create. You can work individually, producing work that is true to yourself. Rather than forcing out creativity, where it does not always feel natural. Finally, this also helps with personal lifestyle. Holidays, childcare and personal relationships can become a priority rather than a 9-5!
Industry-Wider Challenges:
2025 has seen a huge economic and production downturn for the creative film and television industry. This has had a profound effect on the amount of work being made, which has left many unemployed despite their experience or previous work. A combination of actors’ strikes, the post-COVID-19 boom, and the rise of streaming sites has had a devastating effect on the lack of production across the industry. The economic observatory explains…
A crisis looms. Interconnected challenges, including the longer-run impacts of ‘disruptor’ streaming platforms, industrial action, and the spiralling costs of production (as well as the collapse of TV advertising revenues), have combined to create a ‘perfect storm’ for the sector. Total revenues earned by UK production companies fell by £392 million in 2023, and the amount spent on commissioning shrank by over 10%. Exports have contracted by 1.9% in the past year alone. (Economics Observatory 2025)
With a motivation for a career in post-production, I recognise that the lack of production is what has created this aftermath for post-production work. During a recent social at AMPS, I reached out to many individuals who have reached pinnacle points in their career, who, one would assume, would have professional work. I decided to ask 10 individuals, and 8 came back to tell me that they had not and currently do not have any professional work. For me, this painted a wider picture of the institution and where my future lies. It made me appreciate my time working for an in-house production company, however, it made me aware that having a backup career was always necessary.
Back-up Career:
London is one of the most expensive cities in Europe, with rent prices through the roof and a cost of living crisis looming in the background. It is hard to stay focused and set on location as an artist when it constantly eats you up and chews you out. However, I became quickly aware of the opportunities that London provides creatives. Job opportunities and connections often do not venture out of the city despite the collective view that it is “too expensive”. Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad explain this well in their text 2024: Excerpts from Poor Artists…
They kept going on about how London was too expensive, especially for an artist. I didn’t disagree, but the way they said it made me want to prove them wrong. It made me want to cling to London for dear life. Because, for better or worse, I was convinced that it was a place where enough creative things were happen- ing that if I hung around for long enough, I was bound to get swept up by one of them.
When entering any creative role, it is vital to be aware that our role is not at a high enough demand to have full employment security. Industries like oil, gas, banking or food production are sectors that for years and future years will always receive a high demand from society. The arts are a novelty, despite their beneficial effects on individuals and the society that surrounds them. With bills and outgoings, I soon recognised that having a backup option was vital as a security net for any mishaps or holes within my creative career. In response to this, I joined dog-walking apps, and underwent Nanny training; quick and easy accessible part-time work that can be picked up where nescaccry.
Overall, being a creative within the cost of living crisis and a capitalist society can be soul-destroying – it often leaves you doubting the point of it all. However, it is our passion and strive to make art that keeps our hearts pumping and moving forward.
Bibliography:
Economics Observatory. (2025). Why is the UK film and television sector struggling? – Economics Observatory. [online] Available at: https://www.economicsobservatory.com/why-is-the-uk-film-and-television-sector-strugglin