I don't care what anybody says there is money in this for right artist/show

[jimkaplanart]

For instance, this artist is really good, and even though Neil Young is not the biggest act, he printed over 930 prints of this. If he sold them for $40 each that is over 35 grand gross. If he printed them himself, he is in it a few thousand for paper, ink and other stuff. Now I figure he had to spit a lot of the profits with the band when sold as merch, but he could slowly sell the rest through a third party and make a boat load on the rest, without splitting with the band. This poster is just an example poster, I don't know the specifics on it. Not saying he did this.

GigPosters.com - Neil Young

On the surface, this gig poster business looks like it is 99% straight, but there are some opportunities for unscrupulous aritists to behave kind of shady. A really good artist could get paid by a cheep A$$ promoter to make a poster so that he can hand out crap offset copies as party favors to the front row, and his vips, and then the illustrator could behind the scenes, do 1000 real screen prints, and sell them through a third party over the next 10 years as collectors items, making 50 grand. And shielding himself from any litigation from band management. It would just look like a poster dealer ended up with a bunch, or a collector is unloading his investments. Totally under the radar.

How many Emek posters do you see on ebay for over $300 bucks. (This has nothing to do with Emek, just using his posters as an example of nice posters that seem to move on the collector's market)
It just seems like there are some loop holes where an artist could make thousands of dollars in a very creepy, bootlegging way, and it kind of bugs me.
And with the economy being as bad as it is, and the way artists sometimes get the shaft on pay to the point where we are making under minimum wage on our ours, I wonder how much of this has been going on.
The temptation and rationalization would be pretty great to hold onto those posters that didn't sell and a couple years later slowly sell them.
Plus with all these small transactions, most of this money is under the table.

If a top artist did a poster of a guy in a vintage car as an art print, he would have a tough time selling it. But if you make it a gig poster, by putting Neil Young on it, suddenly you have a lot more potential customers wanting it because they are Neil Young fans.

I am just trying to get a grip on this, so please don't give me a cyber but kicking, I am just curious, and concerned, because I wonder about these things, and am looking for an education.
Thanks,
Jim

[steve w]

well, once you bootleg and get caught, you're career as a poster artist is pretty much over.
It's a small world

[alexfugazi]

There are always opportunities for unscrupulous people in every industry. I don't see what you're getting at...

[Andymac]

the word would get around, it's that way in fine art printmaking too. when unsigned pieces get out in circulation, it gets back to the artist pretty quick.

[piemel]

Heh!! I just found some more variants! On sale for $150.. special price just for you!

Next month I'll sell the foil variant.

Yeah, I know I never mentioned anything when the edition went onsale 2 years ago.

But these are showproofs! And you have the AP2 version! But now I am about to drop the blue variant....

[piemel]

So to Steve and Andy .... I think you overrate the gp community a bit

[JustinHelton]

well, once you bootleg and get caught, you're career as a poster artist is pretty much over.
It's a small world

funny how that may be true, but people like Paul Gardner still get work...

[Andymac]

I'm only speaking as a contract printer. What the artist decides to do with their work, and whatever bastardized versions of 'limited edtioning' they choose is up to them. I would still take one good GP artist over 10 fine artists any day, as far as creative output, pushing the medium, esthetic and work ethic.

[piemel]

Sure... but on a personal level the for example Emek variants have been (edit) one of the reasons I quit collecting posters.... and yet the same variants are probably the exact reason why a hundred collectors replaced me and got involved.

[steve w]

Gardner wasn't a bootlegger, just a thief, a douche, and a retard