Musicians...
Have always and will always struggle to find a place in popular culture or even live off the fruits of their labours, regardless of what Cowell and co do.
You could argue that now it's so much better for musicians than before music was mass marketed and produced.
Your average pulpit orchestra for theater in centuries gone by probably had more musical nouse than the entire collective knowledge of the top 40 for the whole of the last decade, but these people were by no means rich or well respected. They just had to get on with it like a job, which it was.
Until the likes of Paganini came along, musicians weren't shown much respect at all. Composers maybe, but never musicians.
You probably have more chance of becoming rich and famous from music right now that at any point in human history.

The trouble is that there are millions of people who are fantastic musicians and music isn't immune to the effects of supply and demand. Therefore to become successful you either have to conform to what is in demand or can be marketed or you have to be so unique and, I hesitate to use the word, 'fresh' that it causes makes you stand out. But then there is always the risk of being 'too' unique.

Even being in the production/tech/roadie/backing musician side of business competition is extremely fierce.

I did have a profound point to make...but I lost it while ranting.
But the best of luck to you sirs in your future endeavours!
(Megamoss, Tue 4 Jan 2011, 15:06, Reply)