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Two quick comments: At 6:01 PM +0200 4/15/08, Per Boysen wrote: > >I know that's how it is. But isn't everyone positive to pay for good >music and art? We pay for it because we love it and want it! This is interesting. From the viewpoint of the listener/consumer (this discussion has mostly concentrated on the POV of the musician/producer) I'd agree with this. If someone provides us a desirable service or product, it should only be natural -- not to mention good manners -- to wish to show our gratitude. That can take the form of money, but many musicians receive what they feel is suitable compensation merely in the evident appreciation of their art by an audience. You don't necessarily have to be paid in cash to "get paid". >pay a person that creates this art in order to keep his/her skills >up and evolve without being slowed down by "a job on the side". The obvious caveat here is that everyone is different; there are no universal rules for this. For instance, I've been lucky enough to have long stretches in my professional career where I was able to support myself through other (passive) means, like investments, dead relatives, etc. During those spans, it was possible to consider myself a full-time musician and/or studio engineer, since income was not an issue and I could devote myself wholly to music. And you know what, I wasn't really any more productive. What I did discover was that "noise expands to fill the bandwidth available". Being able to devote more time meant that I was able to take on another half-dozen half-baked projects that ultimately went nowhere, and that really did nothing for me in the long run. I also found that other distractions (like, erm, email) were able to eat up more of my time. Since I had all day to get around to working on my musical projects, it was no big deal to give over a few extra minutes to answering a message, or surfing the internet, or... oh geez, lookit the time!!! ;) Like a few others have brought up, having a day gig keeps me focused. When working a regular job, I have to work "X" hours at making an income. That leaves only "Z" hours which are dedicated to music/studio work, so I have to concentrate and make the best use of that time. Are there times when having more time at hand would help a particular project? Sure, but there are at least as many (more!) occasions where I'd end up getting distracted/lost if I didn't have that deadline to keep my eye on. Just chalk that up to ADD, I guess. Also, having another occupation helps clear my mind of music, so that I can focus on the music when I get to it. And vice-versa, as working on the music helps sweep away the normal daily concerns as well. So for some people, a system where individuals can concentrate solely on their art is a good thing. For others, not so much. The point is to just keep in mind that everyone is different, and, as always... YMMV. ;) --m. -- _____ "bye-bye empire; empire, bye-bye"