Bill, don't want to hijack the topic, but you have nailed the major reasons, and several of the organizations (especially Kenton...UGH!) why I'm an ardent advocate for Nursing home Reform.

HOWEVER!

I do want to comment on MarK's excellent subject:

The numbers don't lie; there has been a noticeable and statistically significant improvement in the US economy recently...just not in all sectors.

Especially in the music business, you have to change as the factors in the business change.

I used to love to play with good horn players. At least in small lounge setting's they're GONE.

Same with bass players.

B3-s, my favorite instruments of all times, are GREAT, but they're expensive to maintain, heavy, fragile and hard to pull off a single....thus the advent of arrangers and other forms of automation used in "live" performances.

I sold out. Instead of trying to play what I wanted and starving to death, I researched the market and discovered that you can make $100,000.00 plus as a producer of top end commercial music. It's BORING...the deadlines are RIDICULOUS...the schedule is SPORADIC, but, if you are up to it, and really want to work in music, you can and live well doing it.

Same thing in copy...graphics...lot's of "creative" fields.

Top industrial writers make $1.00 a word and more for their work. A national one page publicity release pays $750.00.

Problem is, this kind of work is BORING (believe me, I do it every day).

That's the conundrum: GREAT, creative, fun stuff that doesn't pay well (or at all, sometimes) or really boring work (eg. big format photos of electrical parts) that pays a lot.

The trick is to find out where the cash is, and then decide where on the income spectrum you want to be.

Then, GO DO IT! And, do it in a manner which will make you feel good about what you're doing.


Russ