my work not even today says tyeb mehta who recently proclaimed in an interview there are no art collectors there are only buyers artist ram kumar asks why does a good artist need marketing a good work of art speaks for itself he doesnt think marketing is important because according to him if you need marketing and you are so dependent on it your work is not of acceptable quality too much marketing results in disastrous trends warns ram kumar the laws of demand and supply proclaim inflation and recession says the economist in the veteran artist why do i need a star to launch my show my show should launch itselfit is an artists job to create art it is somebody elses job to do the marketing an artists role is to be primarily focused on creation of work of art it is for dealers and other representatives like galleries to perform some marketing on behalf of the artist but i see an aggression which is alarming its like a bubble that is about to burst fears ram kumarhowever recent reports of a series of success stories in mumbai as well as in delhi point towards the fact that an artists career is a business and marketing is the means through which a business promotes itself in the community at large books on marketing are also being written published and bought by artists themselves though it is yet to catch up in india on a large scale some very popular names like art marketing 101 a handbook for the fine artist by constance smith how to survive and prosper as an artist selling yourself without selling your soul by caroll michels and the artists marketing and action plan workbook by jonathan talbot can be found on the shelves of some wellknown artistsaccording to talbot marketing is more of an art than a science its simply a mistake to look for scientific formulas in a field of art successful commercialisation combines the science of formulating a winning physical product process with the art of marketing strategy and implementation in a way this combination of product science and marketing art resembles a skillful performance that is built around networking marketing and entertainment companies say these creations most of which stream on video web sites are becoming a doubleedged sword a test of copyright laws by altering original content but also an intriguing marketing tool that has been able to grab the attention of buyersin their hearts most artists yearn to be found or recognised by someone who can turn their fortunes around by whispering their names into the ears of a few elite collectors this has begun to happen for some artists but does that mean the artists have to compromise on their art to cater to the market and end up becoming craftspeopleartists who treat their careers like a business and pursue an astute longterm marketing programme will more likely reap the rewards in terms