In my opinion, a "Hobbyist" isn't necessarily an amateur. A "Hobbyist" to me is someone who isn't concerned about making music his/her primary source of income or primary profession. There are a TON of amazing musicians and artists out there who would fall into the "Hobbyist" category. On the other side of the coin, there are many who are "Professionals" (ie. their primary source of income is from music and performance), who shouldn't be called "Professionals" to begin with.

As for Bob Lefsetz's newsletter, it's hit or miss. Sometimes he's totally off his rocker and blogs about something so out in left field (or right field), that you might as well call it out of bounds...Sometimes, a blog post of Bob's is a homerun and should be well considered.

This one about "Hobbyists" & "Professionals" isn't really on the mark at all. He makes some valid points, but some of it is laughable as well.

Here's an exercise...Lets make a list of what qualifies as a "Hobbyist" and what qualifies as a "Professional". I would love to see what everyone's ideas on the subject are! How about it? Are you game?

Greg