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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 9536354" data-attributes="member: 19675">Tastes differ, of course, and professionalism is a broad concept.But generally, if you want to listen to music that will be relevant for decades or centuries, you need quality composers and players who can translate the black squiggles on paper (or computer screens) into something listenable.That requires practice, and lots of it.  To be clear, I’m not saying every musician has to have the same skill set.  Each genre has its own quirks.  Classical musicians often have trouble performing rock, blues or other popular music songs without sounding comedic.  (I nearly wrecked a car listening to Pavarotti performing “The Thrill Us Gone” with BB King.)OTOH, it’s probably rare for punk guitarists to play “Malagueña” properly.“Good enough” is a pretty vague standard.I agree that technology has greatly democratized most forms of art.  There’s a jeweler I work with who can’t draw to save his life- he needs CAD programs to do his own stuff.  Before then, he had to rely on other artists to illustrate his concepts.And discussions similar to the photography ones you mention pop up frequently on the guitar boards I frequent.  Most of the veteran players would agree that most listeners wouldn’t notice you missing a note or using the wrong gear, especially if you’re in a covers band.But those same players will also assert that certain people WILL notice mistakes and differing aesthetic choices.  And that number increases when it’s the performer doing their own stuff.  And they go to great lengths to ensure their gear sounds “right” and their chops are tight.No joke, a front row attendee heckled Adam Lambert during the concert for not doing a Queen song like Freddy Mercury.  Lambert responded something along the lines of “Freddy can’t be here, I’m the singer now.” (gaining a grin from Brian May) and continued with the show.  I agree.  But why make life harder for the average musician?  Passive income streams are one of many key ways to raise one’s earning power, and royalties are a form of passive income.  But a large portion of the general population seem perfectly willing to cut off poverty-level royalty income streams because a high-profile few make millions.  That bugs me.Which is why I mentioned lotteries & windfalls, and why financial literacy courses for big payouts.  Most people are not financially informed enough to properly invest money.Again, only a little over 800 artists out of literally millions make that kind of money from Spotify.Contrast that with the royalties each member of a newly signed 5-piece band whose debut album goes gold receives receives: they’re still going to qualify for food stamps.100% agreed.I’ll note that the American public educational system has cut a LOT of programs that used to prep kids for becoming functioning members of society, largely because of underfunding.  (Some of which is demonstrably malicious.)  Home-Ec, Government, Shop/Woodworking, and others from my ancestors’ and my school days are becoming increasingly endangered, and are completely gone from some districts.One (non-financial) example: I was in my regular barber shop (on a busy day) years ago when the topic had turned to that exact discussion: school programs that had been cut.  I said that I’d bet every guy over a certain age had been taught a particular song, regardless of where they were from.  I started vocalizing the instrumental “Cherry Blossoms”.And every guy over 30 joined in.Nobody younger had a clue.Agreed, to a point.  Food & customer service are what keeps a restaurant going for years, decades and more.But if you’re changing ownership, keeping the trademarks and trade dress help you retain your customer base.  Changing things during a transitional period can be done, but it definitely makes things more difficult.(Of course, if your customer base is small and/or shrinking, altering the trade dress might be a catalyst for improvement.)</blockquote>

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