Just thinking....

I think anytime someone does something to "further their writing/performing career," whether it's a seminar, recording, even internet forum, there is somewhere within them a seed of belief they can "make it." It's one of the big butts of life: "I know there's no real chance BUT ..." That little seed inside them stays alive until they get old or experienced, and then they either adjust or get bitter.

I've been dismayed by some of the things legitimate groups like NSAI have done because I know some people get the wrong idea.

There's a little town about 200 miles north of me called Dahlonega. It was the site of the Georgia gold rush in the 1800s. They still have places where you can pan for gold, and from what I hear, you can still find gold sometimes. There's a place in Arkansas where you can go dig for diamonds and some pretty big diamonds have been found there. I have something akin to a gambling addiction. I've actually said "if I go out to the diamond place and spend a whole week, I'm bound to find something." That's a lot like "if I buy this number sequence on a lottery ticket every day, I'm bound to win sooner or later." And that's not much different from saying "if I attend this event and meet people who worked with this star 30 years ago, I'm bound to meet somebody who can/will help me."

Some studios do water that little seed in the dreamer's heart and I don't know the point at which that becomes "wrong." I remember the first NSAI event I attended years ago. One person impressed us all by saying they had gotten 4 of their songs recorded. Then we heard one of the songs. One seemed to be about oral sex though the writer didn't mean it that way but the listeners in the room took it that way. The writer had gotten it recorded but she was talking about a demo. Another person played his song and just about everyone in unison said "that's a John Denver tune with new lyrics" or something to that effect. This man admitted that but he didn't know it was illegal to do that and thought the song could be a hit. People have talked in this thread about folks mortgaging their homes even when honest people advised them not to. I know a couple who put their whole life savings into a computer business and lost it all. Even the whole sub prime mess worked for a while because people had that little seed of hope. You can't protect people from being their own worst enemy. My family and myself are living proof of the philosophy "yeah, you're right BUT it's different with me."