Art has always been a contribution to society. Art is found everywhere on this earth, it surrounds us and it gives us emotion and makes us feel some type of way.

 Artists are one of a kind; they posses qualities, skills and more importantly, a creative imagination that allows them to bring art to life.

With this being said, an artist who creates a work of art, whether it be a painting, music, a play, a movie or a tattoo, artists should get paid for bringing their art to life.

An open artist’s community should not trump owner’s rights to their content. Take for example the music industry. Many musical artists invest their time and their money to produce a song so it is only just to pay for the music that they produce; after all, this is how they make their living.

Music piracy takes a toll on people’s jobs. The workers who put the time into making and producing the music suffer a loss as well in their wage earnings.

One analysis by the Institute for Policy Innovation concludes that global music piracy causes 71,060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers’ earnings, and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes. Global music piracy causes $12.5 billion of economic losses every year. This in the long run can make it difficult for the artists to produce new music.

 Personally, I am a huge music junkie. I enjoy going to festivals to hear the DJs’ music. To me, music expresses emotion and it makes me feel a certain way. I value the DJs and the artists who produce the music that make me feel this way; therefore I pay for the music that I like to listen to.

All these artists who create their art whether it be making movies, making music or painting portraits should get paid; thus we as consumers should pay for their art.

We all must make a living in order to provide for ourselves and our families. They too have families that they need to provide for. They take time away from being with their families to make this art that we enjoy, so it is only right to pay for the art that was produced.

Who will pay for their supplies if the artists aren’t being paid for their art?

Tattoos are also a form of art and people pay for their tattoos. The artists who do tattoos also need to get paid for their services. They also must charge people in order to cover the costs for their ink and other equipment.

Consumers who have a great amount of interest in ink value the art that comes with it. They value the person that spends hours transferring their art onto someone’s skin. They value it enough that they pay for these services.

Not everyone is great with ink or with doing tattoos. It takes someone with great creativity and imagination to bring the customer’s desired tattoo idea to life.

Why then is this any different any other type of art?

Art is a contribution to society; it brings joy, and it makes this world a very beautiful place. Being paid allows artists to continue to make this contribution to society.

The artist’s contribution expands in relation to the amount of the time that is put into it. More hours means expanded contribution to this world with your talents. We live in a money-based society and that won’t change anytime soon.

However, in the meantime, we must all do our part to ensure that artists are fairly compensated for their contribution to the world.