I guess I'm still kind of agreeing with EVERYONE here, which to me means it's a more complex issue than some people want it to be.

It seems to me that there is one possible big reason for everyone stressing out about getting paid and getting gigs and paying fees to PROs:

THE MARKET SUCKS FOR MUSIC RIGHT NOW MORE THAN EVER. THE DEMAND JUST ISN'T THERE.

I know this is not new info. But I think we forget (or just don't know)how drastically the market has changed. And if it wasn't so bad, maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation about 2 piddly dollars a day.

Case and point, I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO READ BOB YOUNG'S AMAZING LAST POST (end of the first page of this topic)ABOUT 3 VENUES PER BLOCK (!!!!) EACH DOING MUSIC 5 NIGHTS A WEEK IN CHICAGO IN THE LATE SIXTIES, A SCENE THROUGH WHICH HE WAS ABLE TO BUY A HOUSE AND SUPPORT HIS FAMILY!!

These crucial bits of history really expose how much we are frogs in the boiling pot:

If you throw a frog in a boiling pot of water, it'll immediately jump out. If you put the frog in a pot of cold water and then slowly bring it to a boil, it'll slowly adjust to its own death!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, BOB. Those of us who are unwilling to slowly adjust to our own deaths are starving for these stories.

(If you don't mind, I'd like to eliminate your name and pass your story on to some musician friends who would really appreciate it)