I somehow missed the point of not going to music school.
11
I was saved from a life of itinerant musician by the simple fact that I had no talent as a clarinet player to go along with my tin ear. Sometime ya just gotta be lucky.
Great essay.
Great essay.
3
I'm "retired-musician." Can't get much better than that.
16
I think if your child has a passion for music you should encourage it. Not everyone has this...not everyone is cut out to be an engineer or computer programmer... I think if you child is truly passionate about music there is no way you can stop them! My nephew is at Eastman right now and my whole extended family (coast to coast) is so happy for him. We were never musical growing up...we were all athletic...so this is amazing for us!! We are so proud we have someone musical in the family.
31
My brother went to music school. Classical voice, a baritone. Deutsche Leider and the sacred music of Judaism and Christianity a specialty. In his sixties now he still does church and synagogue work at holiday time. Dad was happy to fund Dave's music education even though it was a financial stretch because, although he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, loved and appreciated all types of music. My brother has worked as a bartender, pastry chef, small cafe owner, and currently organizes and manages the best neighborhood farmer's market in Pittsburgh, Pa. I don't think he has ever regretted his BFA. Neither did our father.
38
We're all in this thing together, the judgement of relative value of individual efforts. The Market is not a holy place with rules handed down by some deity. We can improve the chances that musicians make a living from their honest work by supporting arts in our public schools.
27
I'm now 68 and retired. I remember quite clearly the day I told my father I wanted to go into music. I think he and my mother were terrified. How was I going to make a living? They were absolutely right. A life in music is often a life of heartache and disappointment and trying to make ends meet. It is not for the faint of heart. But it is also a life of beauty and joy. For me, music has been more than a career. Music is a way of life. It is my life! Now in my dotage, it is also my great consolation.
60
It sure sounds like musicians need a union.....perhaps we all do.
6
The problem with music school is the same as for other artists and sports figures. If you are exceptional, you will do just fine. But music does not pay well when it is performed at a lower level. I hear orchestra CEO's say that musicians are a dime a dozen. But if you listen to auditions, even if hundreds show up, you may be lucky to find a handful if any at all that really are at the level to make a solid living. When we perform with major artists, it is always evident why they have reached the pinnacle. The problem is that the general public thinks that music is something that anyone can do well. Nothing could be further from the truth.
59
Music is like tennis or baseball. A few can make it with incredible skill and talent to a full time job at the LA Philharmonic. Most of us play for the pleasure or pain (when we are out of practice.) One thing the Soviet Union had was government supported musicians at every level. Every sizeable town had an orchestra, chamber music group, and significant instruction so music students had good careers. The best, or politically connected, would end up in Moscow, be able to go abroad, etc. etc. I would vote for government funding rather than the insane excess of the current defense budget. We have enough money to fund a thriving classical music scene in the US....we lack the political will. The Chinese seem to produce quite a few superb musicians......that is national will and support......and I admire it.
50
He says a lot about the music business. He doesn't say anything about art. Or passion for art. Or passion for art that he has passed onto his son. The music business has always been a too leaky vessel to put much faith in. I know. I am a saxophone playing landlord.
14
As a poet and a jazz/blues sax player, I can only agree: "Don't go to music school" with the caveat "unless you want to teach music" most likely at the high school level - though even that is imperiled.
I'm considered a poet of "powerful voice and compelling imagery" (not my words). Total economic benefit -$300, the cost of a self-published volume. This was long before Amazon so maybe it would be different now.
I did at lest 15 years as a bluesman-carpenter. You'll no doubt guess which actually paid the rent. We were regionally considered a good band with a following. Still $150 a night in various bar/dance dives split 4 ways didn't even pay for gas. I finally went to graduate school (Not music. I have no formal training.) and became a sax toting professor. My students never knew as jazz and blues were out of style.
I finally gave it up and vacillated between teaching and carpentry. Carpentry always paid better. It's an odd conundrum of our time: everyone listens to music continuously, but no one plays and the music available seems to grow ever more "produced." It's like the record companies won except even they are in decline. Is it a failure of expression and taste? A collective collapse in our people's imagination and dream? I don't know.
I sometimes think Don McLean was an utter visionary with his song, "The Day the Music Died."
I'm considered a poet of "powerful voice and compelling imagery" (not my words). Total economic benefit -$300, the cost of a self-published volume. This was long before Amazon so maybe it would be different now.
I did at lest 15 years as a bluesman-carpenter. You'll no doubt guess which actually paid the rent. We were regionally considered a good band with a following. Still $150 a night in various bar/dance dives split 4 ways didn't even pay for gas. I finally went to graduate school (Not music. I have no formal training.) and became a sax toting professor. My students never knew as jazz and blues were out of style.
I finally gave it up and vacillated between teaching and carpentry. Carpentry always paid better. It's an odd conundrum of our time: everyone listens to music continuously, but no one plays and the music available seems to grow ever more "produced." It's like the record companies won except even they are in decline. Is it a failure of expression and taste? A collective collapse in our people's imagination and dream? I don't know.
I sometimes think Don McLean was an utter visionary with his song, "The Day the Music Died."
44
I'm a professional musician. One of the problems good musicians have with getting exposure is the musical incompetence of of the club owners, producers and contest judges who hire us. For instance, Bob Boilen, the NPR executive who is one of the judges of the Tiny Desk Concert Contest, can't even read music. ('Tiny Desk' refers to his failed 80's band, Tiny Desk Unit.)
When amateurs are put in a position to select musical acts they use their own criteria to judge the artists, such as hairstyles or stage costumes, to judge the artists rather than judging them on the basis of strictly musical criteria. Of, course that's how the mass audience judges musicians too, so the odds are stacked against purely musical talent and ability.
When amateurs are put in a position to select musical acts they use their own criteria to judge the artists, such as hairstyles or stage costumes, to judge the artists rather than judging them on the basis of strictly musical criteria. Of, course that's how the mass audience judges musicians too, so the odds are stacked against purely musical talent and ability.
35
This was absolutely brilliant. I have the deepest respect for the artists of the world. My wife is a visual artist whose work has never gone commercial but it still hangs on my walls and marvels. My advice to all those who will listen, never, ever, ever steal music from the internet. In other words, unless the artist is giving it away don't download it. Go to live shows and buy merchandise.
Avoid paying high ticket prices for over rated mega stars. You know who I am talking about:TS, Bey, Mand and the ilk. And always, always always remember: Say a prayer for the the hard working people, say a prayer for the salt of the earth.
Avoid paying high ticket prices for over rated mega stars. You know who I am talking about:TS, Bey, Mand and the ilk. And always, always always remember: Say a prayer for the the hard working people, say a prayer for the salt of the earth.
27
It may sound and look like a person on a stage playing music you enjoy is just up there having fun. They probably are enjoying themselves but they had to bust their butt and sacrifice to be ready to create music you want to have as part of your life. This modern attitude that one shouldn't have to pay for music (OK, it's not such a new idea--what's new is that it is being put into practical reality to a great extent now) is a golden - goose- killer. If you think any old music will do, go ahead, make it impossible for music to earn for its creators and see what you get. The idea that the Spotify concept--hey, musicians are fortunate to get the exposure, so people will go to their shows, and buy T-shirts--is arrogant to self-serving. And a business model based on chasing ticket sales is low profit...hey unless you think live shows should be very expensive to go to? I bet you don't think so. Not to mention a career of constant touring to pay your bills is not a formula for creating good new recording product, or a life likely to stay creative and productive for long. The concept that "ownership of art by the musician is a dead idea" will be self-fulfilling in the sense that it will kill off a lot of creative careers. Of course, some folks will tap their feet to just about anything, and they aren't really listening anyway. They will be fine with the result of the Spotify model taking over
37
I find Mr. Stratton's title more than a little disingenuous. The vast majority of schools of music have traditionally focused on classical training, and largely still do. Orchestral music, opera, musical theatre, etc. -- these artistic endeavors require an infrastructure of a certain size in order to operate; they are team efforts on a grand scale. Far fewer schools of music have programs for the band-type musician that Mr. Stratton describes. It would easily take many whole articles to explore the benefits and downsides of the various types of musical training available. I think Mr. Stratton's exhortation, "don't go to music school", misses the mark in many ways, devalues music education, and doesn't account for other avenues of making one's living as a professional musician.
That said, I back his assertion that it's valuable to have more than one arrow in one's quiver. I have bachelor's degrees in music and linguistics, and a master's degree in music, and I do not regret any of it for an instant. Hailing from Silicon Valley, I have nurtured native technological skills alongside my musical ones, and I now make my living as a tech worker in higher education.
I think we need to encourage everyone, musicians included, to cultivate well-rounded lives with several skill sets and hobbies distinct from our work, without reinforcing biases in favor of one skill set over another, which we do all too often. Certainly that's better advice than "don't go to music school."
That said, I back his assertion that it's valuable to have more than one arrow in one's quiver. I have bachelor's degrees in music and linguistics, and a master's degree in music, and I do not regret any of it for an instant. Hailing from Silicon Valley, I have nurtured native technological skills alongside my musical ones, and I now make my living as a tech worker in higher education.
I think we need to encourage everyone, musicians included, to cultivate well-rounded lives with several skill sets and hobbies distinct from our work, without reinforcing biases in favor of one skill set over another, which we do all too often. Certainly that's better advice than "don't go to music school."
51
thanks for this oped. i am also a hyphenated musician. this message needs to get out and about. i think it is beginning to sink in with people that anyone that creates something is susceptible to "legal" internet theft or at the very least? get paid far less than the people that own the tech. content providers? unite!
11
When music first was invented everyone could sing, drum and dance. Everyone got direct benefits from participating. Now it's all about audience size and how much income you can generate. Everybody listens to music but how many people can play an instrument or sing in tune? Music has become too privatized, too segmented, and way too specialized. Too much is lost in making it into a consumer product.
7
"I don't know a successful business model that can compete against free." I'm sorry, I don't remember the songwriter who said this. Take comfort in the fact that money is only one gauge of success. You must know this if you play in a Klezmer band.
7
Acting is no better, but it must be done by someone. The lead pin needs nine others to fall down behind it for a strike. Only schooling that restricts access and leads to licensing can guarantee a career -- medicine for example -- but there is no guarantee this produces good practitioners, just employed ones. It is a competition, unfortunately, with no safety net except, as the writer suggests, the hyphen.
4
Don't even publicly bother with anything cultural or creative these days, outside the currently prescribed 'trends', at least if you need to get a job. Or a loan. Or, for that matter, a place to live, if you're stuck in one of those areas where co-op or condo boards rule the roost. Though, in all fairness, the concept of harmony does seem to dominate in a lot of these situations. Unfortunately, it's not apt to be the musical kind, but the political one. As in China.
What a culture. We've come full circle in a way, back to one of those postwar cartoons drawn by the famous wartime 'Willie and Joe' creator, Bill Mauldin. The kind that got him into trouble with the corporate media head of that era. It shows two men sitting on a park bench, one a bit scruffy and the other impeccably dressed. The scruffy gent turns to his seatmate and says "Let's talk honest about politics, Mister. You can afford it, and I got nothin' to lose by it."
And to think this used to be known as a country where you could try free expression and at least have some small chance of making a successful, or at least somewhat life-sustaining, career of it. Pity.
What a culture. We've come full circle in a way, back to one of those postwar cartoons drawn by the famous wartime 'Willie and Joe' creator, Bill Mauldin. The kind that got him into trouble with the corporate media head of that era. It shows two men sitting on a park bench, one a bit scruffy and the other impeccably dressed. The scruffy gent turns to his seatmate and says "Let's talk honest about politics, Mister. You can afford it, and I got nothin' to lose by it."
And to think this used to be known as a country where you could try free expression and at least have some small chance of making a successful, or at least somewhat life-sustaining, career of it. Pity.
4
Vulfpeck getting paid $20,000 from Spotify for a silent record doesn't sound too bad. It makes me wonder how much Spotify has paid Vulfpeck for its other records that actually have sound.
What was the basis for Spotify to "shut . . . down" Vulfpeck's silent record? Couldn't Vulfpeck fans continue to play other Vulfpeck albums and turn the sound down to zero for the same effect (and payout from Spotify) as the silent record?
What was the basis for Spotify to "shut . . . down" Vulfpeck's silent record? Couldn't Vulfpeck fans continue to play other Vulfpeck albums and turn the sound down to zero for the same effect (and payout from Spotify) as the silent record?
10
I think the bands in the Rock N Roll Marathon pay to play in it, I guess as advertising. How they get the money to pay I wonder. I also wonder how people afford their homes, cars and clothes. I can't read minds, so I don't know how they afford what they have. Some of us would flunk music school, and we need homes, cars, clothes and food to.
If you have the talent the cost of going to Music School won't matter.
If you don't have the talent then I hope you have rich parents.
If you don't have the talent then I hope you have rich parents.
7
HE'S PLAYING OUR TUNE Our son is a self-taught music teacher in Florida. His achievements are astounding. He literally runs a local music school, maintains its website and is the school's biggest draw. He's a much sought-after music instructor. His student recitals are very successful and highly creative. In order to put the performers and audience at ease, he plays relaxing music before, between, and after playing. He opens the show by calling up each student and awarding a certificate and a small gift as a momento of the performance. It's unique! I've never seen that approach anywhere! He also participates in local bands. When I tell him how proud I am of his achievements, he writes back that that means more to him than words can say. So I keep on expressing my admiration. Because of his skills in organizing and social connections, which he exhibited long before he developed his passion for music, he's found a way to build a music career, combining both the traditional with new high-tech resources. So I don't know where or how, but they're singing his tune!
31
If I were your son, I'd be furious with you for writing this. Who needs such pity? Besides, you fail to mention that unlike SO many others who work because they have to at a job that doesn't inspire them, your son works at something he loves.
7
"'The arts is one big ego trip,' my dad said."
Pops was half right: sure it's a trip, but it ends up more about money, as you allude, the sharks killing any beauty and joy.
Pops was half right: sure it's a trip, but it ends up more about money, as you allude, the sharks killing any beauty and joy.
1
The ability to make a living playing music, being a musician, in the internet age?
Music has existed for thousands of years, seems prehistorical. Musicians it seems have always had to struggle for a living, but at least a living could be made if only coins tossed at foot of musician. Perhaps the best system for ensuring payment to musician has existed in only the last hundred years--music has certainly flourished over the last century.
But now we have the internet, and although it seems to increase communications it seems to also make it less likely a musician will get paid for work. What is the reason? Internet cannot be set up to ensure musicians get paid? What does it mean that fans of musicians are not willing in many cases to pay their share for music? Fans of musicians at least over the last fifty years have given indication they are idealistic, certainly moral people, so what does it mean that so many fans are willing to avoid payment to musician if they can? Does this not smack of hypocrisy? (Include myself among those who are less than ethical when it comes to acquiring music).
And of course it is frightening that the internet could be a device which destroys the possibility of music as line of work. It seems the more the internet makes it less likely a person will get paid for creating music the more either protection of rights of musicians will have to exist (be built in) or people will simply have to be called upon to be ethical with respect to music.
Music has existed for thousands of years, seems prehistorical. Musicians it seems have always had to struggle for a living, but at least a living could be made if only coins tossed at foot of musician. Perhaps the best system for ensuring payment to musician has existed in only the last hundred years--music has certainly flourished over the last century.
But now we have the internet, and although it seems to increase communications it seems to also make it less likely a musician will get paid for work. What is the reason? Internet cannot be set up to ensure musicians get paid? What does it mean that fans of musicians are not willing in many cases to pay their share for music? Fans of musicians at least over the last fifty years have given indication they are idealistic, certainly moral people, so what does it mean that so many fans are willing to avoid payment to musician if they can? Does this not smack of hypocrisy? (Include myself among those who are less than ethical when it comes to acquiring music).
And of course it is frightening that the internet could be a device which destroys the possibility of music as line of work. It seems the more the internet makes it less likely a person will get paid for creating music the more either protection of rights of musicians will have to exist (be built in) or people will simply have to be called upon to be ethical with respect to music.
1
Too much supply reduces the value of any product to nothing.
14
Some parents have a choice. They can let the kid become a musician and be poor and happy, or force him to be a lawyer or whatever and spend a life of discontent. Fortunately, my parents supported my musical aims, and now, at age 83, I can look back on a wonderful past and a contented present.
38
@ Cheryl: I am amazed at how many people there are in "music" with little to no talent. I hear them all the time, and see them online. They use voice modulators to keep them in tune, effects to make them sound cool (not that this is unusual, but it surely does not cover up the lack of talent, e.g. Frampton used tech but also knew how to play guitar and write a song, arguable as that may be for some).
There will always be need for good music. Apparently, there's quite a need for bad music too, but at least one can have the pleasure in knowing that if it is bad, it will not be around 40 years later, still being spun, played, downloaded, etc.
(In fact, in 40 more years, the Rolling Stones, Yes, Bowie, AC/DC, et al, will *still* dominate because good music never dies.)
There will always be need for good music. Apparently, there's quite a need for bad music too, but at least one can have the pleasure in knowing that if it is bad, it will not be around 40 years later, still being spun, played, downloaded, etc.
(In fact, in 40 more years, the Rolling Stones, Yes, Bowie, AC/DC, et al, will *still* dominate because good music never dies.)
13
Jack will do just fine. The Spotify prank proves it. The manner in which musicians get paid for making the air around other people's ears vibrate in a pleasant way is changing and so the path to financial comfort is less clear than it was even 10 years ago. Nonetheless, creative people will find creative ways to make that path for themselves.
What bugs me as a working musician is the notion that the skills we develop in making music aren't transferable. Analyzing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, as I did in grad school as a composition major, requires just as much skill as analyzing case law did for my cousin in law school at the same time. It's a willful absurdity, built on ignorance, on the part of employers not to think that our respective skills might be equally useful.
What bugs me as a working musician is the notion that the skills we develop in making music aren't transferable. Analyzing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, as I did in grad school as a composition major, requires just as much skill as analyzing case law did for my cousin in law school at the same time. It's a willful absurdity, built on ignorance, on the part of employers not to think that our respective skills might be equally useful.
28
Music school is only for the rich. And that is sad.
4
...and don't forget art school.
1
That is a complete falsehood. One can go to a fine or even top notch music school at any state university for the same price as computer science or any other major.
10
Could there possibly be a bright side to the unfair treatment of such extremely talented people in a cruel capitalistic society? Could at least a little bit of bright side be that you know who is going to manage all that real estate when you're gone?
4
DE,
"Cruel" capitalists 'r' us - all of us who avoid paying musicians for their hard work getting to the point where they can perform and record. Trust me, it's no walk in the park to get to that point. Spotify will sink beneath the waves when the rest of us are willing to pay a fair price for the music we love. Don't hold your breath waiting for that day.
"Cruel" capitalists 'r' us - all of us who avoid paying musicians for their hard work getting to the point where they can perform and record. Trust me, it's no walk in the park to get to that point. Spotify will sink beneath the waves when the rest of us are willing to pay a fair price for the music we love. Don't hold your breath waiting for that day.
5
My daughter is in music school and graduates next year in vocal etc. I pray that she will find a job given the pressure on the limited positions and the unwillingness of the public not to steal music, Music will always be here but musicians will turn to other work to support their "addiction". As bad as the old record companies were and still are...... im not sure what the solution is to the issue. I too could not tell my daughter to stay out of music school, but at least she is taking up another major too to support her music desire.
7
This editorial made me smile. Our youngest son graduated a year ago from the University of Michigan School of Music. He plays with several bands and I am now well acquainted with Band Camp, Sound Cloud, and Spotify. It's a little scary as a parent to watch (and listen) to your child embark on a career in music, but it's also exciting and exhilarating. He talked to us for a long time before he applied to Music School, and since then he has put together a business plan for the next 18 months. This is his passion. How can a mother or father throw cold water on such enthusiasm and talent? Maybe I was just too exhausted by the time our fourth child arrived to argue with anything he wanted to do, but I say let your children fly (understanding that he and we are fortunate enough to do so). Even if he eventually follows a different career path, our son will never have to say, "what if?" I realize, by the way, that the author is more than a little proud of his own son.
76
What a sad state of affairs are the arts in America. Don't go to music school is horrible advice based upon sound reasoning. When you are 19 it's time to throw caution to the winds (make that woodwinds if you are a brass player).
After emerging from undergraduate school with a music degree and after 4 years of service band playing I was ready to face the world. I wanted to be a player. Ten years later after playing gigs as varied as symphony orchestra and the circus band I read what the hand had written and went to law school. I became lawyer-musician. After my health caused an early retirement from the practice of law I fell back on my education and became a music teacher. Now I can teach the wonder and beauty of music to a younger generation. I get to see their eyes light up when I explain why Bach's bass lines are so loaded with expression. I get to guide them into the worlds of classical and jazz music. I get to see them grow in confidence and ability. Without music school none of that would be possible. To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett; Some of it was tragic and some of it was magic but I've had a good life all the way. And that is thanks to my teachers and professors in music school.
After emerging from undergraduate school with a music degree and after 4 years of service band playing I was ready to face the world. I wanted to be a player. Ten years later after playing gigs as varied as symphony orchestra and the circus band I read what the hand had written and went to law school. I became lawyer-musician. After my health caused an early retirement from the practice of law I fell back on my education and became a music teacher. Now I can teach the wonder and beauty of music to a younger generation. I get to see their eyes light up when I explain why Bach's bass lines are so loaded with expression. I get to guide them into the worlds of classical and jazz music. I get to see them grow in confidence and ability. Without music school none of that would be possible. To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett; Some of it was tragic and some of it was magic but I've had a good life all the way. And that is thanks to my teachers and professors in music school.
121
Lovely! Thank you.
1
I played in bands on and off for about 20 years. I also recorded a couple cd's of original music, Had a few songs on mostly small radio stations, but a few big stations too, and sold about $20 in downloads. Music is a competitive business. I know so many talented musicians, singers, and songwriters, and most go round and round on the local club circuit playing in cover bands, or they just give up. I used to play with musicians who were in music school, and were quite talented, but they couldn't make a living at it, so they moved on to other work. Very sad.
17
People have a variety of interests, and a lot of it is based on dreams and talent. Your son could have played classical music -- most music schools encourage that type of music in their music schools.
Things could be worst: he could have played football, struck it rich and then limped for the rest of his life.
The satire is interesting, but the truth is it's a false conclusion. The truth is if you spend most of your life going to work and hating it, you are engaging in self-torture. Better to whisle while your work -- most of your life is at work.
Things could be worst: he could have played football, struck it rich and then limped for the rest of his life.
The satire is interesting, but the truth is it's a false conclusion. The truth is if you spend most of your life going to work and hating it, you are engaging in self-torture. Better to whisle while your work -- most of your life is at work.
29
My father, a moderately successful musician, gave me the same advice: "You're talented," he said, "but music is not the most important thing in the world for you. So, don't do it." I followed his advice, and have had a pleasant and stimulating life, with modest but more than adequate material rewards. I have no real regrets, and I always looked upon my father's advice as a manifestation of his love for me. But frankly, I still have to battle slight attacks of envy whenever I go to a concert or listen to a great recording. Being a musician must still be somewhere in my genetic make up.
41
I am amazed at how many talented people there are in music -- how much they have put into their passion, and how empty our world would be without them. It's abominable that their take on performances - even when reasonably successful - is so meagre.
But you are right - get ( prepare for) a day job (which aren't so easy for others with different talents either!). And I guess, be happy that you have this talent, these skills, that will bring you other rewards.
But you are right - get ( prepare for) a day job (which aren't so easy for others with different talents either!). And I guess, be happy that you have this talent, these skills, that will bring you other rewards.
16
I have a friend who's a poet, and not the academic-appointment kind, so your son's life would sound pretty peachy to him.
I've spent most of life involved with the arts in one way or another, including marrying a former musician of the gigging band type, and I'm continually pained by how people with "straight" jobs begrudge creative and performing artists their pay. It's like they hate their own job so much they think someone who does something pleasurable should be willing to work for peanuts. Of course, those who perform or make things know it isn't pleasure 24/7. You don't experience the making of your own art as a gift. Mostly the Muse is some harpy you have to appease. There are exhilarating moments, deep moments, but you're not getting paid to have fun. You're getting paid to deliver an experience.
Musicians and actors have been under threat since their art forms could be recorded. You need fewer and fewer performers to entertain the masses. They were early victims of tech, like white collar workers whose jobs are outsourced. At one time, if you wanted music, you need musicians: right there in your town or your parlor. Evolution hasn't caught up to tech, and musicians, actors, painters, and poets are still born at the same rate they were in the 1500s. You can't escape genetics, and you know if you are one, but we treat those abilities as individually disposable. That's what happens when you confuse the life of the community with the god called The Market.
I've spent most of life involved with the arts in one way or another, including marrying a former musician of the gigging band type, and I'm continually pained by how people with "straight" jobs begrudge creative and performing artists their pay. It's like they hate their own job so much they think someone who does something pleasurable should be willing to work for peanuts. Of course, those who perform or make things know it isn't pleasure 24/7. You don't experience the making of your own art as a gift. Mostly the Muse is some harpy you have to appease. There are exhilarating moments, deep moments, but you're not getting paid to have fun. You're getting paid to deliver an experience.
Musicians and actors have been under threat since their art forms could be recorded. You need fewer and fewer performers to entertain the masses. They were early victims of tech, like white collar workers whose jobs are outsourced. At one time, if you wanted music, you need musicians: right there in your town or your parlor. Evolution hasn't caught up to tech, and musicians, actors, painters, and poets are still born at the same rate they were in the 1500s. You can't escape genetics, and you know if you are one, but we treat those abilities as individually disposable. That's what happens when you confuse the life of the community with the god called The Market.
117