Art + Math 2024 Wrapped
Jump in to review the year in photography and affiliated nonsense
It’s that time of year again. Wrapped’s ready. Are you? No, not $potify’s version. Mine! It’s time for your 2024 Art + Math Wrapped!
You read 58,377 words across 31 stories this year. (Well, I wrote ‘em anyway.) The average novel is about that long so instead of becoming the next Richard Bachman I wrote about photography and “the business of being creative” for a tiny fraction of the fame and fortune. The good news is, all those words put me in the top 8% of Substackers worldwide.1
Our biggest month was October, during which I published four posts for a total of 7,239 words.
My average piece was just under 2,000 words. That’s twice as long as the top performing Substacks. So here’s my pledge to you: I’ll try to get less wordy in 2025. Cross your fingers. Anything’s possible.
Five days remain in the Art + Math Black Friday Sale.
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For what it’s worth, by contrast I listened to 1,201 songs from 510 different artists on Spotify this year. My top song was “Peace” by Ornette Coleman, which I streamed 40 times. That puts me in the top 0.001% of listeners globally—no lie, this one’s real—at least as it pertains to that song. Basically nobody listened to “Peace” more than me. It’s because it’s featured prominently on The Art + Math Jazz Primer, which is a must-listen if, like me, you have exquisite taste in music.
While it’s not a competition, my top five songs this year were:
“Peace” by Ornette Coleman
“Freddie Freeloader” by Miles Davis and John Coltrane
“Blue Train” by John Coltrane
“Waltz for Debby” by the Bill Evans Trio
“Moanin’” by Art Blakey (perhaps my personal favorite on this list)
In June I went through what Spotify calls my “Pink Pilates Princess Strut Pop” phase. (I’m as hot to go down at the Pink Pony Club as anybody.) July was “Funny Parody Outsider” season, when I listened to a lot of Daniel Johnston and Wesley Willis. October was when the jazz really kicked in. I listened to a lot of Adrianne Lenker, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Vampire Weekend this year, too.
All of the above adds up to about 51,000 minutes of Spotify listening in 2024. Based on an average payout of $.003 to $.005 per stream, that means I was single handedly responsible for putting roughly 60 bucks into the pockets of some of the most successful artists in the world.
Since I listened to Ornette Coleman’s “Peace” 40 times, I accounted for a whopping 15 cents of royalties headed his way. A travesty. I’m basically the number one streamer of his song worldwide, and that earned him just 15 cents. Let this be a reminder: everybody everywhere is getting paid, except for artists. Wanna talk about getting paid in exposure? That’s essentially what happens with streaming music. Artists give it away in hopes you’ll get hooked and then buy an expensive ticket to a show where, god willing, you’ll shell out 40 bucks for a t-shirt.2
And that’s the corner of the creator economy that’s functioning best. Delightful.
Back to the words herein.
You blessed us with 417 likes and 186 comments this year. Thank you for that.
Our biggest day was Saturday, September 21, when we got 639 views. The whole month of September was good, in fact, as 6,735 of you read something or another. The slowest week was at the end of July, when we tallied just about ten views a day. Coincidentally, I was on vacation that week. It all goes to show that if you want the algorithm to benefit you, ya gotta publish frequently.
You may be pleased to know that six people found us via Bing this year. By contrast, 601 people found us on Google. Seems about right.
What did you like best? The top three most read posts of the year were…
An essay about the challenges of managing client expectations when it comes to quick turnaround times. (It was a lot more exciting than it sounds.)
2. 7-13-2024
An atypical post, composed while the news unfolded, examining three high-profile photographs shaping our understanding of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
And the number one Art + Math article of the year, with 1,580 views, was…
A book report about the popular “self help for artists” tome by producer guru Rick Rubin, “The Creative Act.” I found the book quite inspirational, and shared the ideas I found most helpful. You seemed to like it, too.
Which posts got the most hate? The lowest open rate—the first time I had one dip to 50%, in fact—was the most recent: Cinematography Appreciation Society. I guess y’all don’t like movies. Who knew!
The posts that deserved more views? Well, aside from the brilliant piece just mentioned, the lowest total views was “The Challenge of Scale,” which garnered just 448. Amateur numbers! But, admittedly, a sort of weird topic.
If you didn’t read my love letter to an obscure, aging tripod—which, statistically speaking, you didn’t—give it a look! It’s emblematic of the very specific kind of mildly amusing semi-useful nonsense you’ll find in these pages.
And who can forget the merch! We’re closing in on our 100th shirt sold. By which I mean, only 90-some to go. Did you get a shirt or bumper sticker that’ll help you show off your good taste? They’re cheap and great—two of my favorite things! You practically can’t afford not to get one. Check out the Art + Math Merch Table for more. It really is a helpful way to support this endeavor.
Last but not least, there’s still a few days left in our special subscription deal: get a one-year subscription for 30% off (dirt cheap at twice the price!) and if you order now I’ll send you a free Artwork is Work bumper sticker.
That’s a wrap! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your continued support. Even simply subscribing is a big help. And to those of you who sponsor Art + Math with paid subscriptions, words alone cannot express my appreciation. Thank you! And best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.
I totally made this up. I’m sorry. But look at the bright side: it pays to read the footnotes!
Art + Math t-shirts are a steal at just $25, right? And much better quality too!
Hey bill - you need to restock M/L on the Rushmore tee! SO GOOD!
happy new year!