[whiplash451]

> we'd only need to fully subsidize artists for a short period of time

That's literally how it works (at least in France). The government sponsors artists early on. Those who make it big don't need the gov sponsoring (and lose eligibility to it). Those who don't continue to receive the sponsoring.

Some artists take a very long time to pan out (some way after their death) so it makes little sense to cut funding to artists on an expiry date basis.

[_heimdall]

Does it make sense for the government to fund artists indefinitely though, if the argued value is related to tourism, patronage, etc?