ArtworkTee issues and the heart of the furry economy
by Patch O'Furr
There was a lot of recent drama about Artworktee, an indie operation catering to furries. This video covers how it started, but there’s a lot more to say.
I had mixed feelings on watching it unfold on social media. “But Patch, isn’t reporting not supposed to have feelings?” I’m a fan like any other, and “objective fan” is an oxymoron. I couldn’t pretend not to be one, or miss the point of having an independent subculture by fans, for fans that’s best written about from inside. For this story, I dug deeper into some of the issues involved:
- Complaints about underpaid artists.
- Questionable practices for the business of art.
- The mission and allegiance involved in profiting from fandom.
- The stakes of overlooking problems and calling it “just business”, vs. how formal business can solve problems too.
Let me try to bring understanding from several perspectives, including the travails of small-business, and the devotion of grassroots fans. This is a great case for that stuff, because it’s not every day that a business comes from this niche fandom that kind of resembles mainstream startup companies. Until now, the most successful commercial enterprise like that is probably Bad Dragon.
Pro-fans and profiteering