WEBVTT - Become a patron

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to become a patron. It may be more

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<v Speaker 1>affordable than you think to commission art in its various forms,

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<v Speaker 1>or to support an innovator's pursuits. Being a patron can

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<v Speaker 1>be a satisfying and effective way to get more great

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<v Speaker 1>work into the world. So if you studied the Renaissance

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<v Speaker 1>in school, you no doubt learned about the medicis and

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<v Speaker 1>others who had commission masterpieces from famous artists. And while

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<v Speaker 1>it would be really cool to be the guy who

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<v Speaker 1>commissioned Michelangelo, that doesn't sound like it would be within

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<v Speaker 1>the realm of most of our capabilities, and perhaps not

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<v Speaker 1>at that level. But the truth is that commissioning art

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<v Speaker 1>in its various forms might be more affordable than you think.

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<v Speaker 1>I certainly found this when I helped found the competition

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<v Speaker 1>for Young Composers, which has been run by the Young

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<v Speaker 1>New Yorker's Chorus for almost two decades now. We invited

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<v Speaker 1>young composers to send us samples of their work, and

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<v Speaker 1>then we'd choose three finalists and commission works from each

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<v Speaker 1>of them with a guarantee of certain prize amounts for

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<v Speaker 1>those pieces. The dollar amounts were around a thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 1>and we got some pretty fantastic choral works out of that.

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<v Speaker 1>More established composers would be more expensive, for sure, but

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<v Speaker 1>we are talking within the range that a small foundation

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<v Speaker 1>or perhaps even a small choir could conceivably support. I'd

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<v Speaker 1>personally some day like to commission a concert length choral

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<v Speaker 1>work that's either a cappella or written for one instrument.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots of choirs can't afford a whole orchestra, so that

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<v Speaker 1>would broaden the amount of accessible concert repertoire. As for

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<v Speaker 1>visual art, I had purchased a few pieces from a

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<v Speaker 1>particular artist I found exhibiting in the Torpedo Factory in

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<v Speaker 1>Old Town Alexandria several years ago. Then I realized that

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<v Speaker 1>I would like a painting of Texas bluebonnets to give

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<v Speaker 1>to my husband. I reached out and she quoted me

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<v Speaker 1>a very reasonable price for what is an absolutely fantastic

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<v Speaker 1>original piece of art that is now hanging in my house.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lots of creative people in this world. Like

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<v Speaker 1>anyone else, Creative people need to make a living. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to the Internet, it is possible to connect with people

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<v Speaker 1>like never before. If you would like a piece of

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<v Speaker 1>art for your home, or a special holiday card, or

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<v Speaker 1>professional calligraphy for a wall hanging, or perhaps even a

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<v Speaker 1>special song for someone's birthday or an anniversary, you just

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<v Speaker 1>might be able to connect with someone. Certainly, you can

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<v Speaker 1>see who is doing good work via Etsy or the

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<v Speaker 1>people you follow on social media see what they might

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<v Speaker 1>be able to do. Then you will have something that

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<v Speaker 1>no one else has, and you will help create more

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<v Speaker 1>cool work in the world. You can do this for

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<v Speaker 1>all sorts of things that are creative. Plenty of creators

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<v Speaker 1>have started Patreon groups or substacks as a way to

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<v Speaker 1>create community while generating support for their work. If you

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<v Speaker 1>like what someone is producing, then by paying a small

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<v Speaker 1>amount of money each month, you can vote for that

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<v Speaker 1>person to keep producing their work. In general, I want

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<v Speaker 1>to live in a world where people are producing more

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<v Speaker 1>cool things, both in terms of art and content. So

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<v Speaker 1>those of us who do enjoy such things can use

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<v Speaker 1>money to make sure that more cool things come to be.

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<v Speaker 1>And the good news is that these days you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to live in an Italian castle to make it happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people can become patrons, even people who've never thought

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<v Speaker 1>of themselves that way. And the more people who do

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<v Speaker 1>start to think of themselves that way, the more rich

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<v Speaker 1>and interesting the world will be. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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