We are at a time when investing in arts is more common than ever. Many young people are now investing in music, painting, digital illustration, animation studios, audio and video studios, photography, dance, and every other thing artistic.
These are somewhat the popular ways of making a living – maybe more than before.
Does art pay in Kenya?
Yes, art pays in Kenya but the amount of pay varies widely depending on the art niche. Graphics artists for example can earn Kshs. 456,000 in a year, sketch artists can make around Kshs. 108,000 per month, while the salary scale for the arts and culture industry in Kenya is between a minimum of Kshs. 30,934 and a maximum of Kshs, 83,807. All these figures are aggregated from salary tracking websites and official organization payscales.
| Art Career | Average Monthly Income in Kenya |
| Photographer | Kshs. 31,600 – 148,900 |
| Digital Illustrator | Kshs. 25,300 – 113,900 |
| Sketch Artist | Kshs. 27,890 – 119,432 |
| Musician | Kshs. 33,900 – 470,101 |
| Instrumentalist | Kshs. 17,600 – 89,550 |
| Digital animator | Kshs. 41,500 – 232,553 |
| Voice over artist | Kshs. 30.500 – 115,400 |
| Dancer | Kshs. 15,000 – 65,670 |
| DJ | Kshs. 23,400 – 313,160 |
While arts make money, there is a catch. Not everyone can make money via art.
There is a graffiti artist called Moha Graphix who is the envy of many in Nairobi not only for his glorious matatu graffiti but also for the business he has built around his art. In an interview with Mwalimu Churchill, Moha revealed that he has been in the matatu Grafitti business for more than 15 years and has survived solely on that business.
See? Art can make money.
A popular article by Kevin Kelly from 2008 titled ‘1,000 True Fans’ has all the answers to all these young small-scale investors in Kenyan arts.
All you need in 1,000 true fans
The basic principle by Kelly is that 1,000 true fans are all an artist needs to make money a living (not riches) from their craft. So, whether you sing, dance, paint, animate, make videos, etc, all you need are 1,000 people who can pay for your services.
These 1,000 people, in the words of Kelly, should be ‘superfans’ in such a way that they will drive from far just to come to your concert, buy anything that you make, visit your art gallery, etc. They give you an assurance of a market for your art.
The math that Kelly does is that in the U.S. 1,000 fans give you a profit of Kshs. 10,000 ($100) each per year is enough to sustain you income-wise. The total is approximately Kshs. 10 million ($10,000) per year.
Now in Kenya, Kshs. 10 million per year is way above the living wage. You need significantly less to survive. Since Kelly said his numbers were a “rough order of magnitude” then we can also do the same for the local market.
A sustainable living wage in Kenya could be around Kshs. 100,000 per month and hence Kshs. 1.2 million a year after tax. The assumption is that this amount will be enough for comfortable living.
In this case, you need a profit of Kshs. 1,200 from each of you 1,000 fans. It also goes without saying that if you can get a profit of Kshs. 5,000 per fan then you need fewer fans. For example, if each fan gives you a yearly profit of Kshs 12,000 then you just need 100 true fans.
Remember we are talking of die-hard fans that religiously follow your brand and take action to support the brand.
The power of relationship
Establishing a relationship with fans, therefore, becomes the next important part. According to Kelly, the advantage that an artist has over big businesses and corporations is that they can create personal relationships with fans and grow these relationships over time.
If an artist added a new loyal fan each day, it would take a few years to have a community of 1,000 fans that rally behind the art produced. The process of creating these relationships is also easier because of technology.
Photographers can for example use Instagram to display their art and connect with new customers daily. Other platforms such as Facebook, Websites, Blogs, and Vlogs are available.
The point that Kelly passes across and that is the goal of this article is that the aim of a small-scale art investor should not be to gain millions of followers, millions of fans or clients, or millions in income but simply to get 1,000 true fans.
A more practical example beyond the Moha Graphix one above is that of niche musicians in Kenya. A lot of one-man bands have survived on the concept of 1,000 true fans whether intentionally or not.
A musician such as Man Rwagi may not be known nationally but he has a following of true fans that will follow his Mugithi concerts wherever they go.
Even the more popular musicians such as Mike Rua and Ken Wa Maria started out with these small groups of diehard fans. It would surprise you that a lot of these musicians know their fans by name.
