ASKING FOR FREE STUFF! (Hidden Camera Prank) - An Artist's Perspective on Being Paid 

SHARE this video if you have experienced this before! Too many people think it's ok to ask free work of hard working professionals in the creative arts.

An editorial cartoonist friend once said, "If I want exposure I'll pull my pants down and go stand in the middle of the street."

"Can you draw something for me for free?" "Not for free, but you can commission me." "I don't have any money." "Me neither, jackass."

Willing to embarrass himself just to show everyone on the internet that people from the creative industry don't just allow themselves to give to customers and clients their products for free. I applaud you for gaining more of my respect by building a shrine for you, Mister Jazza. I applaud you.

A couple of months ago I was talking to a friend and I was like 'Yeah so I was thinking about drawing something but I really want to do it big-scale because it won't look so good otherwise - but it would cost more money in art supplies so its kind of a waste if I don't do it as a commission." But I didn't want to do a commission because it was something I wanted to keep. And she looked at me and went 'Can I buy it?" And I was like... "sure" and I made it and she paid me and then she FREAKING GAVE IT BACK TO ME AS A PRESENT BECAUSE SHE GUESSED I WANTED TO KEEP IT. This is why she's my friend.

The first Prank on YT with a message

" Yeah! So like, instead of like, instead of paying you. I wear, like a T- shirt that says "Chemist Warehouse" Guy: " Ahhh Ok" When people walk past me and go: " You smell really good! Why do you smell so good?" Guy: "Chemist Warehouse" "Yea" *the girl is like what the f are you are talking about and the guy is slowing getting convinced. 😂😂😂

Jazza, I've gotta be honest. I thought these people were going to be rude to you every time and walk away from you. Haha. I was a bit nervous, actually. Haha.

This video is so cringeworthy. "Can I buy a 350,999 dollar car for 20 dollars? I will pay 'long term'" I feel bad for Jazza now because according to this video he gets this every day.

I can pay you with exposure, by that I mean exposure to the sun when you can't afford your house anymore.

"I have 20" "320,000?" "20!" "20,000?" "No 20 dollars"

"what about Canberra, nobody goes to Canberra."

Me: Jazza why do you smell so good Jazza: CHEMIST WAREHOUSE

I can pay you with _exposure_ bro. Sweet sweet _exposure_

I hate when people just randomly ask 'can you draw me?' That just really irks me

anybody else really respects the travel agent guy? he never once seemed to lose his cool, actually patiently explained the impacts of giving things for free and took jazza's ridiculous statement seriously

"-Or maybe because I don't have a real job that I'm getting expected to pay for, like being a cashier or a lawyer, or a... prostitute." - Jazza, May 16th, 2017

My respect for you has just fucking skyrocketed. This is a huge problem in the art industry, thank you for addressing it. Fight the good fight brother

"we can't do these things for free because it diminishes the value of our product." excellent point. Artists are giving away their products for little to no money, which makes their talent and creativity critically under valued. Why can't non-artists understand this? Great video with a great message. :)

same thing happened to me , I made an animation for someone.. he said he would pay me later (I know him) so I accepted .. I made the animation he didn't even used the animation nor pay me .. 😈😈

Back when I was doing photography I had a number of model friends that I would do head shots for and eventually they told their friends and they told their friends until I had a pretty solid base of clients. One of my model friends wanted some photos done and I agreed explaining the costs and what we would be doing bluh bluh bluh. She agrees and we do the shoot and I edit the pictures and show her some samples to see how she likes them and if she wants prints and what kinds of prints were available. She chooses the pictures she likes and what prints she wants then I total the price and when I tell her the final cost I get the "Well I was thinking" line. Sure enough she had no intentions of paying and thought that since we were friends I would be happy to do it for exposure and when I said no she went on a rant about how much I suck and how shit my pictures were and she came to me for pictures because she was being nice and no one else would want pictures done by me. Yeah we aren't friends anymore.

"When they smell me and Wonder, Why I smell so good. I can say: Chemist Warehouse." Nice advertising Jazza XD

I would have a heart attack if I asked for free stuff in public :3

I have worked for a cat hotel for a few months and it was pretty interesting and funny to see that a lot of their customers treated the company as the people you are talking about in this video. For example, people who have reserved a week for their cat and don't show up because they canceled their vacation. So now the cat hotel has done all the preparation for nothing. It's exactly like a commision where a artist is midway their artwork and the customer suddenly backs out. Some people are actual idiots.

I'm the kid that, in school, is called the art kid. So I sell my art and comics. But people never want to pay, so I'm poor. luckily I'm a kid.

I hope a lot of people watch this. It says a lot about how freelance workers are treated, and it's a good reality check for those who think anything should come for free. and while I know this is a prank, it's so awkward to see anyone ask for products for free. I'm glad the people were ok with the prank in the end lol But I also like that this provides a good perspective for both patrons and artists alike.

Someone wanted me to make music for their digital app for free! That wasn't even the sad part, the sad part was they found my music in an old app and they enjoyed it but they got shocked that the makers of that app paid me. It's like they liked my music and was very interested in it but didn't think it's worthy enough for money.

Will someone exchange their car for a homemade baked potato?... It has cheese

A woman asked me to illustrate a book cover to a sequel in a series she wrote. She tells me about her ideas and concept art that's she wants me to illustrate and refine. Then... She tells me, "because my first book hasn't made any money, I can't pay you. You WILL get exposure and credit however." My response to that was a polite decline, but what I wanted to tell her was that 1. My time is valuable 2. My skill is something that is unique 3. Your exposure is worthless, as demonstrated in the fact that your first book is a failure, you don't have an audience that would give any exposure worth a damn. The fact that she didn't have any credit to her name and series means that she has to pay for a freelance artist with currency and not her shallow promise of exposure.

"I'll pay for the tv this time" "I don't know..." "CASH, dude!" whoa big difference here xD

For traditional art, I've been told that at least a third of the price should be the cost going into the project. So if you spend $30 on canvas, your price should be around $90

This happens way too much. I'm obviously not as good as Jazza, but at school people see me drawing and just assume at I want to draw whatever they want to for free. Then they get mad when I say no.

Thank you for making this video, Jazza!!! So many artists, freelancers and illustrators are facing this on a regular basis…

Video should be retitled to "Jazza imitates scumbag commissioners".

Jazza. I have so much respect for you. There are so many artists these days that people think they can get things free from. I'm so glad you have the patience and courage to do this. Honestly, I admire you so much. What are you not good at?

I am a graphic designer and one of my assignments while in school was to find a real client and to design a website for them. When I sat down with my client he (who bragged about being a self taught graphic designer) he made it very clear that since I was not out of school I did not deserve to be paid for creating a website for him. That by doing this work not only would I get a school assignment but that I would also be getting a ton of experience. Needless to say after I left the meeting, accepting him as my client for the project, I could no longer get a hold of him. He would not answer my calls, texts, or emails. I could not just go and see him either as he was 3 hours away from where I was living. Thankfully I did have other people interested later on that were willing to pay for my hard work. I am still in school but now I actually have my own side business where after this experience I will not accept work with no compensation.

Omg this is so hard to watch 😂 its just to awkward to say stuff like this in public but I totally get what he's saying lol

I had a guy once tell me that my work was great for his new children's book and wanted me to do some artwork for him, well i gave him some ideas that he appositely loved, but as soon as I gave him a price on my work ($15 a page) he went nuts and said my work was crap and he was't going to pay, he didn't even want to negotiate it out, funny thing is it was the for the best, I now use the artwork as my artist mascot that you can see as my avatar now lol

Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jazza! I’ve had people say they would pay me to drive the work to them (like gas money), and I’ve had people agree to a certain price, I made the painting, and then they backed out after saying they couldn’t afford it. It’s incredibly frustrating when you feel like people don’t take you or your profession seriously. They like your work (otherwise they wouldn’t ask you to make something for them), but they somehow think you shouldn’t get paid, or they shouldn’t have to pay for it? I don’t know if they realize that we do this for a living. Anyways, great video about a really important topic!

I had this teacher once who commissioned me for a portrait and then didn't pay me, just asked for another portrait. I asked for the money from the first portrait and she said she would pay me after the second. I did the second and she paid me 30$, for TWO FUCKING portraits. We had agreed 30$ for the first one, and she basically got the second one for free. I have learnt my lesson now, and will only do commissions if I get paid first.

I've never seen a JAZZA PRANKSTER BEFORE

I love that you had the guts to actually do this. There's no way I could keep it up. Doing the good work, Jazza!

"If your good at something, don't do it for free" I was starring at the joker in the background the whole time!

As a consumer, this is an eye opener. As a future creative professional (makeup artistry) this is very informative and helpful. Thank you Jazza ❤

This literally addresses the biggest issue us artists face; amazingly done.

This video made me embarrassed for Jazza

I'm a young entrepreneur and am trying to start up my own cake business. For a few months now, I have been struggling with this whole getting paid procedure as I usually bake for myself or my family. But this really opens my eyes into how much I should be paid and that I should undermine myself. I know this isn't art related but it's quite an eye-opener for me so thank you Jazza 😊

The TV Salesman I'm dying XD

I can at least say that this has never happened to me (surprisingly). I guess it's because I'm not well known and I don't talk much irl. But I hate seeing how often this happens to my friends and the artists I look up to. It's not fair, work is work. Especially when people say "I could just do this myself so why won't you do it." or when they try to guilt trip and artist into doing something for them. You buy music, you buy concert tickets, you buy movies, why is buying visual art so different? If it is so worthless or easy to you that you think it should be free, then do it yourself. Anyway that's my little blurb

Finally a prank video that isn't fake!

as an antisocial person throughout the videos i was like "oh gosh stop! noooo dont do that!" it was cringy af and i was even double thinking of watching this like ehhhhhhhhhhh

"why do I have to pay?? art is easy!" me: ok? if it's so easy you can do it yourself

If someone wants to pay with exposure for my photography services for an event , I'll only give him over-exposed pictures heheheh

Video very well done. I was one of the "free technicians" who fix your computer for free, just becuse I loved my work. And - surprise, surprise! - I ended up broke. Thanks for the videos and the tips.

Love this!!! If people only knew how ridiculous they sound when they ask for free artwork 🤦🏾‍♀️. This really brings home the point. Nicely done!

People need to remember that you are not only paying for the end product. You are paying for the time of the artist, the materials the artist uses, and their talent that no other provides. I pay the repair man because I can't repair something myself, and I don't have the time to repair something. Pay your repairmen, and pay your artists!

I just started selling my art and my friend said "you should just give it away for free you'll get more sales"

Preach this, please fucking please. So many artists struggle with this problem and honestly I'm thankful that you've made a video on it. I hope this spreads far because this is so damn important

HOW DID YOU LOOK SO SERIOUSLY WHEN ASKING FOR A FREE TV? HOW??

-i'd be embarrased every time- :-)

second hand embarrassment 200%

Oh my gosh... this was genius. Thank you for bringing light to this!!

This is such a common problem for me thank you so much for addressing it! So many people think that you shouldn't get paid for 'a hobby' like... I know people that said they don't get paid for playing video games??? Because how exactly does playing video games alone in your basement benefit other people??? But yeah I guess if you become a RU-vidr or are a game tester that's different because you're giving input to help improve the product HOWEVER that is mainly not the case soooo.... thanks Jazza!

*_"Chemist Warehouse"_*

It's just so perfect. One time one of my friends asked me to draw something for him and then asked my commission prices AND HE'S NOT EVEN AN ARTIST. This is what I wish everyone would be like.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at your video, at how true it was! I've been doing freelance jobs for a while now and I cannot even count all the times, when people were asking for free stuff from me, either bluntly expressing it as so ("I have a request"/"I have an idea what you should draw next") or sneakily trying to get me do free works for them. I'd say, the most ridiculous was when someone approached me and asked to draw them a fetish character, insisting on it then trying to compromise on making it a fetish character still without actually getting into the fetish part after I told them, I don't take requests but only commissions, and that I won't do anything sexual/fetish-related. They also moved on describing the character, demanding how I should draw them and so on (again, when I refused), all that while I'm pretty sure they were aware at how clearly uncomfortable I was. '))

hey jazza can you draw me spiderman and deadpool playing rock paper scissors and send it to me ? I'll pay with exposure,GREAT exposure; )

Dude, you've got super courage. I am surprised that you went and asked stuff for free !!! It looks tough

THANK YOU for addressing this issue! This has been such a problem going around the art community for so long. As a fellow artist I get SO many requests for free art, and many of them get annoyed when I ask to be paid for it. This video was much needed! I also want to give out a huge thank you to the minority that understands when we artists ask for money. You guys are great! 💕💕

ASKING FOR FREE STUFF GONE WRONG GONE SEXUAL!

Plot twist: that WAS Elon Musk!

This is a job. I don't work for free. That's it, thanks Jazza❤

Jazza: "Excuse me Mam, what if I paid you 5 bucks instead of 50 and took you home so you could demonstrate your qualities and techniques to my family and neighbors. In return you'll get lots of exposure..." ;D

JAZZA YOU WENT TO THE SAME CHEMIST WAREHOUSE AS ME,IN MELBOURNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jazza what you said is soooo true, I love art and everyday I draw something new, and in my school everybody asks if I can draw a copy of my drawings for them, so I ask “are you willing to pay for it” they say “no problem I’ll copy from internet” 😑

This truly is one of the most heroic, coolest things I've ever seen Jazza do. I'm also slightly new, being subscribed for maybe 3 weeks now?

omg jazza that was hilarious, i can imagine those clerks and dealers thinking "who does he think he is????? can he leave????"

I once had someone request a drawing with a phoenix background, Big words, and 7 people with individual characteristics all for free.

THANK YOU JAZZA-YESSSSS I totally understand as a fellow artist and I have never heard anyone understand and explain to others so well!!!!😄😄😄

Thank you! As an entertainer, I hear this ALL the TIME! People genuinely get offended when I say I don't tell jokes for free, sing for my supper, dance for exposure, or act on a whim. If they wanna see me work, they can come see me in the comedy club, piano bar, etc. GREATLY appreciate this video! Thank you, again!

Well in that case, can a have a 20 dollar Lamborghini?

this is so true.

LOVE this video! :D Hat of to you, Jazza for even daring to film this. Thank you :D

Thank you for posting this! It is amazing how many artists are underappreciated for their time and talent.

people have actually asked me for free art and I have the face of the un-regretable "NO."

Can you draw me, I'm so beautiful your tears of joy will sell for millions.

Jazza, thank you so much for doing this video. A visual representation of what we as artists go through really illustrates the ridiculous nature of giving someone "exposure." I appreciate you and really love your artwork.

Yeah, the travel agent guy had the most profound response. That needs to go on a billboard or something. Also, as a photographer, I’ve been told by people, “Why should I pay you when I can just take the photos myself, or get my nephew to do it?” There’s a perception of photography that it requires no more skill than just clicking the shutter release.

Person: Can I have a request? Me: Sorry there not open, if you want you may have a commission there open. Person: Can we trade? Me: Sorry trades aren't open. Person: please! Me: 😑

"BECAUSE IM WORTH IT." jazza you're so perf

Haha, you're a genius. I will definitely use this video as a reference if ever being asked to make art for free.

Best part- You gave companys exposur

When I saw the word "prank" in the title I was very disappointed. But I actually watched the video and learned a lot about a real problem creators face in the industry. My heart goes out to all artists and I'll definitely think twice before asking for creative services without asking about paying them actual money. Thanks Jazzw

119 People didn't get the point of this video ~sadface~

*AAARGHH!* This video was sooo akward to watch!

You NEED to make a video for the people who ask for free work and you should half ass it and take 10 seconds to make what ever they want

"People will be like: how did you get that Tesla?" I don't now, maybe at the fucking Tesla dealer! LOL

this one time I was asked to do something and then he said "what can I get for free?" and I said "a lot actually. give me a day I'll send it over!" and then I went on waited a full day and went into said saved a blank canvas and sent that to him with the message quoting "a whole lot of nothing!"

Great Vid! So funny, but so true!

This is the first time I have seen someone go into depth about this topic and explain it in the most perfect way "You wouldn't ask a surgeon to perform your heart surgery on you at the price of exposure, would you?". You went to the effort to publicly humiliate yourself just to REALLY get the point across. You beauty. You did a fair dinkum job mate