Re: making money off your music

[tEd ® KiLLiAn <tedkillian@charter.net>]

Well, it's awfully nice to be paid.

I never turn down money and always say "thank you" when I get it.

And, it would be doubly wonderful to be paid for exactly the the art  
one wanted to do (whatever that is).

But there is a slight problem that I find often occurs when mixing  
commerce and art.

You get stuck doing what other people want and will pay for  
(eventually) whether it's what you personally want to do or not.

That is, unless you are the recipient of the triple bonus prize of  
evolution and good fortune - finding yourself so talented and  
artistically in-tune with a large (enough), ready and willing-to-pay  
audience (or other patronage) that will buy absolutely anything you  
do, and the thing that you most crave to do is exactly what they crave  
most to have you do - a match made in heaven or hell (I don't know  
which).

Otherwise, lots of us seem to be out of luck (at least that sort of  
luck).

I don't make much money with my music.

But, I never really planned (or plan) to.

I work (a day job) to live . . . and to buy time and resources to make  
art.

I make art (the art I want) in order to be happy and satisfied while  
living life.

When I am occasionally not happy and satisfied with living life, it is  
usually because there is an imbalance somewhere.

The funny thing is, that imbalance never ever seems to have anything  
to do with whether or not I've been paid for my art.

If there is some magic scheme or whatever to take the "day job" out of  
the equation and make more time for my art, or family, or whatever  
that would be super swell.

But, I am really not much into playing lotteries - be they state-run  
or genetic/evolutionary.

I figure I've already been dealt whatever cards I'm going to get to  
play in this game, and I might as well make the best of it.

Just some thoughts.