SB 26-133 is before the Colorado Senate. Follow the discussion ↗

Who Wants
an A-Corp?

Results from the Artist Corporations survey — 1,609 creative people telling us who they are, how they work, and what they need.

From April 2025 to February 2026, artists and creators answered our survey at artistcorporations.com. Their responses are directly shaping the A-Corp legislation. Here's what they told us.


1,609
Respondents
unique survey takers
90%
Agreement
want the A-Corp to exist
12+
Disciplines
creative fields represented
11
Months
of survey responses

Key Findings

38%

have no formal business structure at all — they're operating without legal protection, benefits, or the ability to build equity.

74%

finance their creative work out of their own pocket. The vast majority of artists are self-funded.

39%

earn less than $20,000 per year from their creative work — confirming the economic precarity the A-Corp is designed to address.

58%

say raising capital is a significant challenge — the single biggest pain point, followed by healthcare access at 46%.

79%

identify as people who make the work directly — this is a survey of working artists, not just arts administrators or supporters.

77%

rate low cost of formation as critical — followed by IP clarity (71%) and ease of setup (68%).

01Disciplines

What Kind of Work They Do

Respondents could select multiple disciplines. Visual art, writing, design, and music lead — but the community spans every creative field.

Visual Art48%
Writing & Publishing37%
Design31%
Music30%
Internet & Digital28%
Performance & Live Arts25%
Film & Moving Image23%
Architecture & Spaces8%
Photography3%
Games & Interactive2%
Craft & Making2%
Culinary Arts1%

02Roles

How They Describe Their Role

This is overwhelmingly a community of makers — 79% say they make the work directly. But many also wear multiple hats.

I make the work directly79%
I help others make work52%
I bring work to audiences35%
I build creative platforms / spaces30%
I fund creative projects11%

03Structure

How They're Organized

Half work alone, half in teams. More than a third have no formal legal structure — the biggest constituency the A-Corp serves.

Team Size

Just me50%
2–317%
4–1019%
More than 1014%

Organization Type

Solo (No Structure)38%
LLC11%
Collective10%
Nonprofit6%
Limited Partnership5%
C-Corp3%
S-Corp (or LLC w/ S-Corp election)6%
Cooperative2%
B-Corp1%

04Money

How They Fund Their Work

Self-financing dominates. Most artists pay for their own creative practice — and nearly 40% earn less than $20,000 a year from it.

Financing Methods

Self-Financed74%
Revenue from Sales35%
Licensing / Royalties / Commissions16%
Grants (Individuals)11%
Bank Debt10%
Grants (Government)9%
Grants (NGOs / Nonprofits)9%
Crowdfunding7%
Outside Investment4%

Annual Creative Income

$0–$20K39%
$20K–$50K18%
$50K–$100K15%
$100K–$250K11%
$250K–$1M6%
$1M–$10M4%
$10M+1%

05Sharing

Who Shares in the Revenue?

Most artists don't currently share profits — but nearly 30% split revenue with 2 or more people, and 13% operate as nonprofits.

Just me59%
2–3 people14%
Nonprofit (no one)13%
4–10 people8%
More than 107%

06Challenges

Their Biggest Pain Points

Respondents rated 15 potential challenges. Raising capital and healthcare access are the top significant challenges — but administrative burden is the most widely felt when including minor challenges.

Significant challenge
Minor challenge
Not a challenge
Raising capital / investment74% challenged
Accessing healthcare69% challenged
Administrative burden86% challenged
Confusing to set up67% challenged
Pooling resources with other artists67% challenged
Protecting IP71% challenged
Cost to set up63% challenged
AI in practice area59% challenged
Risk of personal liabilities72% challenged
Maintaining artistic control57% challenged

07Wishlist

What They Want Most

Every feature was rated important by 88%+ of respondents. But three stand out as overwhelmingly critical: low cost, IP clarity, and ease of formation.

Critical
Nice to have
Not important
Low cost of formation77% critical
Clarity of IP ownership71% critical
Ease of formation68% critical
Attractiveness to investors51% critical
Access to grants / donations45% critical
Equity compensation for contributors45% critical
Flexible governance46% critical
Tax treatment for artists44% critical
Pass-through tax treatment35% critical

08Takeaway

What This Tells Us

The picture that emerges from 1,609 survey responses is clear and consistent: creative people are working without structures, funding their own practices, earning modest incomes, and struggling most with raising capital and accessing healthcare.

This is not a population that needs another marketplace or platform. It's a population that needs infrastructure — legal structures that recognize their work, pool their resources, protect their IP, and give them a path to building real economic power.

That's exactly what the A-Corp is being designed to provide. Every answer in this survey is directly informing the legislation.

About This Data

This data comes from 1,609 unique respondents to the Artist Corporations survey at artistcorporations.com, collected between April 2025 and February 2026. The survey is a progressive form — respondents can answer as many or as few questions as they choose. Response rates vary by question (from 90% for initial agreement to 5% for later questions like pain points and desired features).

Percentages shown are calculated from the number of people who answered each specific question, not from all respondents. Multi-select questions (disciplines, roles, financing) allow multiple answers, so percentages may exceed 100%. This is a self-selected sample of people who visited artistcorporations.com — it represents the community that has actively expressed interest, not a random sample of all artists.

Add Your Voice

These results are shaping real legislation. The more artists who participate, the stronger the case to lawmakers.