Collaboration Isn’t Code for Free Work

In this industry, “collaboration” has become one of the most misused words I’ve ever heard. It rolls off the tongue like an invitation to magic, but too often it’s just a dressed-up way of saying, “I don’t want to pay you.”

Let’s be clear: collaboration is a sacred act. True collaboration is the merging of visions, resources, and talents into something neither party could have created alone. It’s not exploitation disguised in creative language—it’s reciprocity. It’s exchange. It’s honor.

I collaborate every day. With stylists. With makeup artists. With models. With writers. With designers. But when I say “collaborate,” what I mean is: we are entering into a covenant where each person’s contribution is recognized, respected, and compensated—whether in currency, visibility, or shared ownership.

Too many people are conditioned to believe that creatives should give away their gifts for “exposure.” Exposure doesn’t pay rent. Exposure doesn’t put food on the table. Exposure doesn’t honor the years of study, the sacrifice, the mastery, and the spiritual energy poured into our work.

When someone says they want to collaborate, the first question should always be:
“What are we each putting on the table?”

• If you bring vision, I bring execution.

• If you bring platform, I bring artistry.

• If you bring budget, I bring mastery.

• If we both bring our best, we both rise.

But if what’s really being asked is for one party to give everything while the other reaps the benefits, that’s not collaboration—that’s extraction.

Collaboration is one of the highest forms of creativity because it requires trust, humility, and reverence. It’s a recognition that no one person carries the whole flame—we each carry sparks. And when we come together, we ignite something divine.

So let’s restore the word to its rightful place. Let’s use “collaboration” only when we mean to create with integrity, reciprocity, and respect. Anything less is not collaboration—it’s exploitation.

And exploitation has no place in the future we’re building.