Artistic Finance

Alvin Hough Jr, who’s currently the associate music director of The Lion King on Broadway, talks about career finances and a few things about musical theatre musicians.   Topics: ⭐️ Dollar pizza ⭐️ Being a saver, not a spender ⭐️ Living off per diem while touring ⭐️ Rehearsal call versus a performance call ⭐️ Rates of pay for different numbers of instruments ⭐️ The differences between the pi...

Technical director Tab Birt discusses his journey through live entertainment, financial lessons learned along the way, and his dream of trading the stage for a glass artist’s studio in Norway.   Topics ⭐️ Glass blowing ⭐️ Not selling yourself short ⭐️ Getting on a stagehands union call list ⭐️ Burning out, being cynical, and the joy of theatre ⭐️ The secret investment vehicle called a ROTH IR...

Today’s show is an “ordinary and necessary” episode in which we learn about prepping and filing taxes for freelancer 1099 income.   Topics: ⭐️ Documentation matters! ⭐️ Personal expenses versus business expenses ⭐️ Tracking your expenses as you go ⭐️ Missing expenses are the number one way to pay more in taxes.   Video Version https://youtu.be/EJBHsud0Iis   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/a...

A guide of financial resources, and where to find them, for freelancers working in theatre or other facets of the entertainment industry.   ⭐️ Unions ⭐️ Job boards ⭐️ Scholarships ⭐️ Financial Planning ⭐️ Taxes / Accountants ⭐️ Financial Communities ⭐️ Educational Worksheets & Supplements ⭐️ Community Resources - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ⭐️ Episodes of Artistic Finance - separ...

A panel of live event lighting and media professionals having a Q&A about career finances.   ⭐️ Theatre Lighting Designer Christina Watanabe ⭐️ TV Lighting Designer Mike Grabowski ⭐️  Media Designer Zak Borovay ⭐️ TV Gaffer Seán Linehan   Topics: ⭐️ Taxes ⭐️ Agents ⭐️ Contracts ⭐️ USA 829 / LORT Contracts   Youtube Version https://youtu.be/ojmSqEkGqi8   Artistic Finance https://linktr....

An interview with television lighting designer Josh Hutchings about how intimate and taboo it is to discuss finances.   Topics: ⭐️ Compound interest ⭐️ Not having a financial plan ⭐️ Investing early and consistently ⭐️ It’s an industry based on relationships ⭐️ How intimate and taboo discussing finances is ⭐️ Making a financial life plan with the help of professionals   Video Version https:/...

A discussion of various financial independence topics for people working in the creative industry.    Topics: ⭐️ Improving Financial IQ ⭐️ The “starving artist” narrative ⭐️ Empowering confidence in personal financial decisions   A live episode recorded at LDI in collaboration with Amy D Lux / Lobolux Design's Financial Independence Club.   Video Version https://youtu.be/Nqo4Z7UREKE   Artistic...

Learn about the process of designing and producing live shows for music artists with our Los Angeles based guests: lighting designer and programmer, Erica D Hayes and COO and Show Director at Wasted Potential, Zach Berget.   Topics: ⭐️Balancing the creative vision of an artist with the logistical realities of large-scale budgets. ⭐️ The workflow behind developing these narratives and visual elem...

Theatre director Oliver Butler discusses the state of pay for theatre directors.   Topics: ⭐️ Director Fees at Non-Profit Theatres in NYC ⭐️ Giving credit to the non profits that pay above the SDC minimum. ⭐️ Actionable steps to address the issue both for individuals and institutions. ⭐️ Discussing theatre pay honestly and in public so we don’t uphold the myth that it’s livable.   Video Versio...

Theatre designers and their agents come together for an in-depth discussion on navigating agent-designer relationships, contract negotiations, and strategies for fair compensation in the theatre industry.    Topics: ⭐️ Preparing for contract negotiations ⭐️ Challenges and solutions when negotiating ⭐️ Meeting and building relationships with agents ⭐️ Advice for early, mid-career, and high-prof...

Lighting designer Travis McHale talks business and finance as a theatre designer.   Topics: ⭐️ Self filing taxes ⭐️ Negotiating rates ⭐️ Reasons to be investing ⭐️ Paying off mortgages early ⭐️ The magic of compound interest ⭐️ Stress and negativity of credit card debt   Patreon Resource Version https://www.patreon.com/posts/175-creative-are-117433546?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source...

A conversation with lighting designer Don Holder.     Topics: ⭐️ Advice for young designers ⭐️ Managing finances as a freelancer ⭐️ Advantages of filing taxes as a C Corp   Video Version https://youtu.be/YXHdU1JVmRE   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance   Don Holder https://www.donaldholderlighting.com/welcome/portfolio/index.html https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/donald-h...

An interview with Amanda Gougelmann, part of the Software Support Team for ACT Entertainment and freelance stagehand.    Topics: ⭐️ Networking for advice ⭐️ Finding the market rate for a job ⭐️ Invest in yourself and your future ⭐️ Having multiple jobs to smooth over slow times ⭐️ Getting a job by starting a relationship at a trade show ⭐️ Donating and raising money for causes while still pa...

An interview with Ulrike Storch: a business coach for circus performers. Topics: ⭐️ Whether or not to work for free ⭐️ Marketing and social media curating  ⭐️ A frank look at rates and negotiations ⭐️ Authenticity in professional communication   Video Version https://youtu.be/EGFtaB6ii1c   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance   Stagelync Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA...

Alex Pendleton, manager of Netgear’s ProAV Systems Engineering department sits down with Ellen and Ethan to talk personal finances.    Topics: ⭐️ Paying yourself first ⭐️ Investing as much as possible ⭐️ Long term investing apart from news cycles   Video Version https://youtu.be/KiZcsADzSqE   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance   LDI - Free registration with promo code ARTISTICFI...

On today’s show we go across the pond to the UK. We meet the co-founders of Women in Lighting. It's a project by Light Collective run by our guests Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton. Amy D Lux guest hosts this interview.   Topics: ⭐️ Balancing Money Goals & Lifestyle Goals ⭐️ Starting your own company and following your passions ⭐️ Building a global project that connects 78 countries, and c...

Ellen and Ethan interview Los Angeles based lighting designer, programmer, and video director Erica D Hayes.   Topics: ⭐️ Following the money ⭐️ A high school internship leading to a career path ⭐️ Contracts are only as good as the people they’re made with ⭐️ Speed of payments as a contractor with Net 30, Net 45, and Net 60  ⭐️ Joining IATSE 728, The Union Dedicated to Motion Picture Set Ligh...

An interview with two of the union organizers who helped Drunk Shakespeare join the Actor’s Equity Association. Ella Fent from the Chicago production and Clara Kundin from the Phoenix company talk about the long day's journey into unionizing.   Topics: ⭐️ Reasons for unionizing ⭐️ Navigating the process of joining AEA ⭐️ The benefits  gained through union membership ⭐️ Advice for other theatre...

Lighting and visual production designer Kat Borderud sits down with Ellen and Ethan to talk about handling finances as a touring LD and programmer.   Topics: ⭐️ Needs versus wants ⭐️ The ebb and flow of rates ⭐️ Freelancers learning finances on the go ⭐️ Working prep in the rental shops that build tours   Video Version https://youtu.be/qQ5AcRshTSE   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/artisticf...

Performer and musician Matthew LaBanca discussing his upcoming solo show Communion, in which he tells the story of getting fired from his music teaching job by the Catholic Church when he was reported for being gay.   Topics: ⭐️ Finding a lead producer using the internet ⭐️ Producing a non-profit off-Broadway mini contract ⭐️ Theatre careers are about relationships, so have integrity because it...

Ellen and Ethan talk with Emily Malone, head of live events at Disguise, known for hardware and software for events and installations, like the Sphere in Las Vegas.    Topics: ⭐️ Determining rates ⭐️ Saving for overhead ⭐️ Saving for retirement  ⭐️ Benefits of networking   We also discuss the Vegas Sphere, Adele’s Munich Show, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese   Video Version https://youtu.be/p2ZI...

Amy D Lux interviews Ben Davis, founder of Illuminate, a San Francisco non-profit that rallies large groups of people together to create impossible works of public art.    Topics: ⭐️ The Bay Bridge Lights ⭐️ Raising a million dollars a month ⭐️ Conversely, turning down millions of dollars of funding ⭐️ The economy of generosity vs. economy of reciprocity    Quicklinks - Artistic Finance: https...

Ellen and Ethan chat with Amanda Carradine, the lighting director for Eastside Christian Church in California.    Topics: ⭐️ Being a church LD ⭐️ Saving for inevitable slow seasons ⭐️ Determining rates for freelance gigs ⭐️ Finding stability in a production career   Video Version https://youtu.be/p2ZI0DUH0O4   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance   LDI https://www.ldishow.com/  ...

An interview with lighting designer Heather Gilbert about financial habits throughout her decades-long career in Chicago and recently on Broadway.   Topics: ⭐️ Picking up the tab ⭐️ Asking for higher design fees ⭐️ Freelancer designers filing their own taxes ⭐️ Broadway design fees for plays versus musicals ⭐️ And an apology to Assistant Stage Managers from Lighting Designers   Video Version...

Ellen Lampert-Gréaux and Ethan talk with Roma Flowers, a lighting designer for dance and theatre based in Texas.   Topics: ⭐️ Opening a 401k when young ⭐️ Legacy and generational wealth ⭐️ Keeping overhead low in the lean times ⭐️ Partnering with someone better than you at finances ⭐️ Reporting income on taxes to pay into social security   Video Version https://youtu.be/mLgNZFIOOe0   Artistic...