Rich vs Poor

[funky lime]

A person with a full-time job has, at minimum, roughly 47 fewer hours each week to chase their dreams, compared to a rich person who doesn't need to work.

A rich person can hire someone to prepare their meals, clean their home, do their laundry, watch their kids, etc, while they chase their dreams. A poor person needs to devote lots of time and money to these things, further widening the gap.

If a rich person doesn't succeed at their dream, they can immediately try again and again and again. A poor person does not have that luxury; if their investment doesn't work out, it might be years before they can afford to attempt it again.

A rich person can move wherever they want, e.g. to a happening town like LA or Nashvillle, and thus more readily have access to contacts in the industry (when it comes to making it in the business, networking is more important than talent or craftsmanship). For a poor person, such a move is a much more daunting prospect and larger risk (no safety net), if it is even possible at all.

I suppose one advantage of the poor person is, they have to make it work out, whereas the rich person simply gets to.

[Bunny_boy]

When Miles Davis dropped out of Juilliard, which his father was funding, he thought his father would be upset. Instead the father said something like "Whatever you do, do it well," and promised to continue supporting him until he got on his own feet.

Use what you've got to get where you're going.

That kinda proves that money buys you a safety net to enable artistic persuits

[justin3am]

There is another way.
Have a day job which pays decent but perhaps not related to making music. Use income to fund music endeavors.
...Manage time as well as you can.

I feel very fortunate. I make a decent wage at my day job which happens to be tangential to music making and I make a few bucks on the side with gig work I do for other musicians. My budget for my interests is more than covered and I can even afford to help out musicians who aren't as fortunate as I am.

Maybe it's not common in all communities but most of the folks I know who have something, want to be able to help people who don't. We don't always know the best ways to help and other times may be overwhelmed by the number of people who need a hand... but we're always looking out for folks who could use a leg up in a way that we can accommodate. So maybe it doesn't have to be 'Rich vs Poor' but I understand that the message of musicians helping musicians is getting close to naive.

[VOODOO U]

There is another way.
Have a day job which pays decent

Use income to fund music endeavors.

This is "another way"?? Looks to me like aim for being rich.

Manage time as well as you can.

Yeah....this is the catch. Managing time when one has to earn a living just to have bread on the table let alone affording a banjo.
Basically it's about working less hours. The hours that you do work are enough to play hard. If you're not a doctor, lawyer or drug hustling then good luck with C++.
This is the case for most so if you were smart enough to rise above this, amen. But doesn't gift you a card to give advice to the slaughterhouse. There's too much distractive shit out there that causes one to drift from being well off to afford music junk.

I make a decent wage at my day job

My budget for my interests is more than covered

In short, be rich.

and I can even afford to help out musicians who aren't as fortunate as I am.

Sincerely commendable. Thank god you're rich or at least financially abundant where you can afford to help.
In short...be rich! $$$$$$

Or be poor.and have the rich fund me.

[justin3am]

I understand where you are coming from but I'm not sitting on a pedestal trying to tell people how to live. I'm just trying to describe how it happened for me, in an attempt to illustrate that there are lots of paths to having a fulfilling hobby or career in music. 22 years ago I was struggling with homelessness. Since then, helping the homeless and disadvantaged has kinda become my thing, largely inspired by the help I received when I was struggling. When I talk to people who are going through it now, I try not to evangelize to them. I try as much as I can to listen and understand their circumstances. In the process, if I learn that there is a way I can help, I try to do so. Most of the time that doesn't mean money (I wish I could just hand out wads of cash!) but I do have access to some other resources.

I'm especially not trying to say that because I did it, anyone else should be able to. I mean, I'll be the first to admit I'm dumb as hell and likely haven't earned my station in life. I acknowledge that part of being fortunate was having opportunities/privilege that others don't. I wish music career dreams were more accessible to everyone but even I had to be realistic about my future in the industry. I had to face the fact that I wasn't going to find success as a mix engineer. I found my niche as a tech and the people I've met doing that kind of work has enabled my gig work. I try to tell people that there are so many jobs in the music industry which aren't behind a console or in front of a mic and a lot of those roles can be a foothold into something else... or you may find like I did, that a different role is rewarding in and of itself.

[pekbro]

I’m a rich person in the body of a poor one.
I do often identify as wealthy tho, depending on
how pretty she is.

[harryupbabble]

ghetto musicians tend to be poor

elvis presley was dirt poor, he sang about the ghetto
stevie wonder too

white trash musicians from trailer parks
eminem
50 cent
snoop dogg
ice-t

all of nirvana were children of poor lumberjacks?

steve jones of the sex pistols was a frequent thief at vivian westwood`s clothing store?

the bassist for the ramones was a male prostitute that wasn`t making enough money

david bowie used up his record label`s money to buy cocaine and use limos,
because and i quote "i ain`t got no money and i ain`t got no hair"

[harryupbabble]

on the other hand,
all of pink floyd were from rich families

[harryupbabble]

us and them must be about rich vs poor

but then they sing "money, is the root of all evil today"

[RunBeerRun]

I aints po' I can afford a slapdad

[Old Joad]

Money didn't help Paris Hilton when she recorded her album.

[Bunny_boy]

ghetto musicians tend to be poor

elvis presley was dirt poor, he sang about the ghetto
stevie wonder too

white trash musicians from trailer parks
eminem
50 cent
snoop dogg
ice-t

all of nirvana were children of poor lumberjacks?

steve jones of the sex pistols was a frequent thief at vivian westwood`s clothing store?

the bassist for the ramones was a male prostitute that wasn`t making enough money

david bowie used up his record label`s money to buy cocaine and use limos,
because and i quote "i ain`t got no money and i ain`t got no hair"

I think the issue is a current one, with the costs associated with attending uni, the costs associated with touring, the costs associated with instruments, etc. Way back when it was much cheaper, it was predicated on talent. Talent nowadays doesn't pay the rent.

[mumpcake]

I guess it helps. It always makes me cringe when they talk about Nepo babies. You can't tell me in any universe Whitney Houston got her foot in the door because she was related to Cissy Houston. A talent like that will always shine, no matter who you are.

That totally got her foot in the door. She probably would have gotten there on her own merits anyway, but it might have taken a little longer. A lot of fantastic talent goes unnoticed in this world, so who knows for sure?

On tge other hand, having a famous father got Rockwell's foot in the door too. Same goes for a lot of people who were already famous in other fields that you don't hear played much because their first track was no better than "a little bit Alexa"

[mumpcake]

Money didn't help Paris Hilton when she recorded her album.

But it did get her the opportunity to record an album.

[Old Joad]

Money didn't help Paris Hilton when she recorded her album.

But it did get her the opportunity to record an album.

Good point