2 Advanced Ways to Succeed in a Superstar Economy
In a superstar economy, the best get way more than the almost best.
So how should you respond as a creative artist? Here are two advanced ways you can position yourself to succeed:
Cross-train to become the best at a niche, cutting-edge aspect of your discipline.
Instead of fighting to be hired amid a sea of qualified artists, organize a project that others want to be a part of.
Let’s break it down.
The Superstar Economy
The “superstar economy” is a concept introduced by researcher Sherwin Rosen over forty years ago, in a paper called “The Economics of Superstars.”
Superstar industries, Rosen explains, are ones in which “relatively small numbers of people earn enormous amounts of money and dominate the activities in which they engage.”
Think of Lebron James, Joshua Bell, or Taylor Swift, and you’ll get a sense of how the superstar effect works.
Cal Newport, whom you and I talked about recently, argued in his book Deep Work that as communication and collaboration technologies improve, the superstar effect creeps into more and more industries.
“There’s a premium to being the best,” Newport writes. Therefore, if you’re in a marketplace where the consumer has access to all performers, and everyone’s [talent] is clear, the consumer will choose the very best. Even if the talent advantage of the best is small compared to the next rung down on the skill ladder, the superstars still win the bulk of the market.”
That’s good for the superstars. But it’s challenging for the rest of us who are on the way to becoming superstars.
The arts industries are classic examples of superstar economies. As video conferencing, file sharing, and home production software become more and more sophisticated, it doesn’t matter if your collaborator is one town over or 100 towns over.
And while these technologies haven’t truly replaced the experience of being in the room with someone else and jamming together on a creative idea, the level of collaborative friction is low enough to function.
So how should you as a creative respond?
Well, nothing—absolutely nothing—supersedes becoming world-class at your primary creative skill: musical performance, composition, comedy, painting, design, screenwriting, or whatever it is you do.
Secondly, be a good hang.
But beyond those basics, here are two advanced ways you can leverage the superstar economy for your own benefit.
Cross-Train
First, cross-train in an adjacent, cutting-edge skill or technology that can set you apart. Learn to code. Master digital marketing. Become a student of professional comedy.
By doing so, you’ll not only get calls to perform at your primary creative skill, but because people will want you on their team. You will bring that special something, that catalyst, to really make a project tip.
Here are five skills that might make you stand out:
artificial intelligence and machine learning
virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) development
3D modeling and animation
advanced photography and videography techniques
digital fabrication technologies
How might each of these skills catalyze in your own art?
The few skills I listed here are just a start. By mastering a valuable skill, you can give collaborators access to something they cannot access themselves.
Be the Organizer of an Interesting Project
One big problem is that most creatives try to compete against all of the other great artists out there.
They fight through the noise. Clamor for attention. Keep up with their networks.
Wishing and hoping to get hired on an interesting project.
Most creatives show up to the worksite, looking for work. Like laborers. But what if you owned the worksite?
Instead of being just another artist in the crowd, what if you created the stage?
Organize a virtual reality concert series with artists performing in digitally-created environments.
Create an interactive art installation using augmented reality, where viewers can use their smartphones to see and interact with dynamic, virtual elements overlaid on physical artworks.
Or do what André Miranda did. Miranda studied film scoring and music business, then started the company Musiversal, which allows songwriters and composers from anywhere in the world to access session musicians—including full orchestras—to lay down tracks on their projects. All remotely.
By being the organizer of an arts project, you can leverage the superstar effect for your own benefit, and become a superstar magnet.
If you want to succeed in a superstar economy, find ways to work with other superstars. That way, you won’t be fighting against it, but flowing with it.
This article was originally sent to my email list subscribers on The Creative Process Newsletter. Sign up here to join other creators and get insights every Monday. Want to see past editions first? Click here.