Everybody gets a piece of the pie, so the pie must be very large to begin with. Most of the time the 2 hr. or so show that you see was preceded by 22 hrs. of hard work to make it happen. I have heard people say "What an easy life, just play two hours a day and have the rest to the time free to goof off" or "Music is not a real job". Music may not be a real job, but the music industry is, and it can be a lot of hard work. The "music industry" is a business. Some choose to support themselves and their families working in another kind of "Industry" or business and just play music for fun. There has always been the attitude by many that you cannot make a living as a musician. There is also one sure test of whether you should be in the music industry or not, and that is "If you can be talked out of it, you shouldn't be in it".

I believed I had too make a living at it because there was nothing else I loved to do as much as play music. I definitely could not be talked out of it. Just playing music will not pay your bills, but the "music industry" can on the average provide a great livelihood and in some cases make all your dreams come true. The truth for me has always been that the hard work was worth the reward of getting to play that two hrs. and it paid very well and I quote "I didn't have to get a real job". It had to have been both musically and financially rewarding for me to do it for over 30 years. Read on...