BEN BLISS (born 1985): Making It Work: The Practical Guide to Financial and Entrepreneurial Literacy for Freelancers in the Performing Arts [231 pages, ISBN 979-8254608806; Available from Amazon]
Thirty-four years after James Carville asserted in response to debate over which issue most motivates voters’ choices at the polls that it is ‘the economy, stupid,’, far too many artists—and not solely those in the formative phases of their careers—continue to underestimate the extent to which personal and global economic conditions affect the success and longevity of artistic journeys. It is not only artist’ financial health that is tested by the booms and busts of the gig economy, but the emotional, social, and physiological tolls of struggles with solvency remain too seldom acknowledged. Sadly, mentorship sometimes exacerbates the neglect of hollistic approaches to career-building: an attitude of ‘If you are not thriving, you are not doing it correctly’ is still over-prevalent amongst the institutions and individuals guiding young artists. Amidst so many concerns about musical education that promotes erudition at the expense of practicality, is the failure to adequately prepare young artists to manage the business interests of their careers perhaps the most injurious disservice?
Though eclipsed by the incalculable impact of the lives lost, the battle for financial survival that compelled many artists to curtail or abandon their careers was a particular horror of the COVID-19 pandemic. Work stopped, but the bills came. The rent was due. Student debt loomed. In a time of life-threatening illness, insurance premiums needed to be paid. Despite well-meaning assurances of all of humanity being ‘in the same boat,’ some freelance artists watched from leaking rafts as colleagues with extensive management and representation teams sailed past aboard yachts, certainly not enjoying carefree voyages but buoyed by hope for an eventual entry into tranquil waters. ‘What have I been doing wrong?’ sinking freelancers asked. Pandemics of course defy predictions and preparation, but insightful, self-cognizant artists found that there were no simple or uniform answers. Rarely are foolish actions wholly the cause of strife, but acting wisely, both in the moment and in years to come, is the necessary foundation of a career—and a life—that could withstand future calamities.
The development and deployment of strategic wisdom are the central focus of Making It Work: The Practical Guide to Financial and Entrepreneurial Literacy for Freelancers in the Performing Arts, a work of engaging but challenging depth from the pen of acclaimed tenor Ben Bliss. Equally adept at turning a lathe, distinguishing a true classic car from merely old ones, and projecting alluring tone into the vast spaces of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, Bliss demonstrates in Making It Work that he also excels at both devising innovative ways to solve problems that plague today’s freelance artists and advising his readers with unflinching honesty. When Thomas Paine published Common Sense in January 1776, sense may well have been common, but Bliss recognizes that the do-or-die cultivation of business sense by freelance artists is now dismayingly uncommon. As early as the book’s Disclaimer, its author’s abiding counsel to fellow artists is succinctly articulated: ‘You alone bear full responsibility for evaluating the merits and risks associated with any decisions you make’ (Kindle edition location 4/1330).
In her autobiography, Dame Joan Sutherland expressed disdain for haggling over performance fees and contract terms, but trusted sources impart that, knowing her worth, she weaponized conviviality with remarkable effectiveness. Today’s Arts environment has evolved in ways that would likely baffle even the most business-savvy artists of past generations, but Bliss advances aspects of Sutherland’s ‘conquer by kindness’ mentality in his suggestions to freelancers, writing, ‘Use your judgement to push back with enough strength to not leave any money on the table.’ He continues with a reminder of the power of finesse, recommending ‘also being realistic, respectful and not souring your relationship with the presenter’ (Kindle edition loc. 869/1330). From this start, Bliss argues, the conscientious freelance artist can fashion a career in which self-interest, self-promotion, and self-reliance are strengths rather than stumbling blocks, allying the benefits of traditional channels of external influence in the full utilization of the artist’s own intellect and intuition.
Throughout Making It Work, Bliss provides cogent, well-reasoned proposals that are specific enough to be valuable to a broad array of artistic ventures yet of universal importance to all readers. Moreover, the precepts addressed in these pages arise from lived experirnce and are conveyed with unadorned language, ensuring that every point is made with clarity. Outlining the obstacles that obstruct freelance artists’ paths, the book’s real-world scenarios are explained and analyzed with disarming candor. Never shrinking from admitting his own mistakes and miscalculations, but owning them with self-depricating playfulness, Bliss avoids any vestige of the condescending ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ tome. Espousing an artist’s unique variation on Shakespeare’s ‘to thine own self be true,’ this book seeks above all to instill in readers an unalterable awareness that ‘this is show business, not show thanks-for-letting-me-be-on-stage’ (Kindle edition loc. 850/1330).
Musicians who, as Ben Bliss has done in rightly-acclaimed portrayals of parts like Bajazet in Händel’s Tamerlano and Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, succeed in Baroque and Classical works understand that a vital component of their success is delivering ‘dry’ recitatives with vigor that heightens the drama rather than distracting from it. The same might be said of writing about the behind-the-scenes machinations of freelance artists’ careers. Though humorously warning that he may ‘sound like your Mom or your rich uncle’ (Kindle edition loc. 1023/1330), Bliss transforms topics that some readers might be inclined to find tedious into threads in an informative, entertaining, and ultimately enlightening narrative. Should anything else have been expected of one of the lyric stage’s most captivating storytellers?
Note: Citations in this review refer to the digital edition of Making It Work compatible with Kindle version 8.148.1.0, updated on 21 May 2026. Location designations will not correspond with locations in editions compatible with other Kindle versions or with the print edition.
