Getting paid for your work isn’t a sin. As consumers of content on the Internet, we’ve been conditioned to expect most of our experiences to come at no financial cost. Last week I launched the new golf yardage book video tutorial series over on 3 Up Golf. A potential customer emailed me with a few great questions about what to expect for his purchase. He also noted that I took down my old videos and “put them behind a paywall”. His intent was not with any malice, but it definitely hit a nerve with me.
I spent over a week of my time planning, recording, and editing these new videos – of course I was going to charge for them!
It was only after a little reflection that I realized how we’ve come to this place. We’ve become acclimated to receiving so much free content that we’re put off when we find content we think should be free. Artists (note, I’m not calling myself an artist!) have been dealing with this conundrum for centuries. What is thy value, oh wise one? If your job is to create – how can you get compensated for your work. In the age of abundant content (viva Internet!), have we commoditized content to the point of being valueless?