Affordable insurance for musicians is one of the reasons I'm happy Obama was re-elected. It basically means the Affordable Care Act will stand. I think Obamacare will help entrepreneurs and freelancers, and that includes musicians.

If we REALLY mean what we say about musicians being entrepreneurs and small business owners, then we should make sure musicians have more health care options they can actually afford, so they don't have to take the risk of going uninsured or take on day jobs for health benefits. No one should have to RELY on fundraisers, charity or MusicCares to pay medical bills.

Fundraisers are nice, but Colin is correct. It's not nearly enough. Seems like every month I get an email or Facebook message asking me to donate to a relief fund for a musician who got hurt at the day job. One guy fell off a roof doing construction. Another had BOTH of her hands crushed and now she cannot work OR play music. Neither had insurance because there was no affordable option for them.

Obamacare is flawed, but it is something, which is better than nothing, which is what most full-time musicians get when they're injured.

If you don't agree, fine. But let's not pretend we care about musicians getting the shaft from Spotify because we obviously don't care about them when they get hurt or sick. Rant over.