Producer Offers To ‘Pay’ With Exposure, Gets Some Unwanted Exposure Himself

If you work, you get paid. If you work more, you get paid more. These are two very simple concepts that some people simply can’t understand. After all, you wouldn’t expect people to barter with you for your services by offering you a sack of potatoes or a new pair of sneakers (well, unless you’re a photographer or an artist, that is).

But it seems that even though we’ve (mostly) moved beyond bartering, we’ve accelerated into the era of exposure. Yes, some people believe that promising someone attention is the same as giving them fair compensation.

A text message conversation between a producer and a potential backup dancer got posted to Imgur and went viral. The producer promised exposure for work, but the person they were talking to was having none of their empty talk and began texting people, warning them about the producer’s shenanigans

A producer wanted backup dancers who would work for exposure

Image credits: vgajic (not the actual photo)

Probably the best part was the producer realizing that he, in fact, does not like the taste of his own medicine and hates being exposed to the public. Especially in a negative way.

The Guardian writes that a survey conducted by the Association for Independent Professionals and the Freelancer Club showed that freelancers who work in the creative industries lose around 5,394 pounds (7,086 dollars) every year through working for no pay. That involves being asked to edit videos after hours, taking part in events, etc.

Students are the most affected by offers to work for exposure and some believe the practice is ‘endemic’ and exploits the naive and the vulnerable by filling their heads with talks about how this will lead to a great career. However, there has been no proof that working for exposure directly correlates to getting a job later.

Dear Pandas, have you ever worked for exposure before? What do you think of people who want your services but can’t pay you in return? Do you think it was right to expose the producer who wanted others to work for exposure?