What's the future for talented musicians?

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Talented musicians, or just plain terrible ones... 😬

That’s exactly it—there is an undeniable truth to the idea that the most brilliant musicians are often the most difficult personalities.

What exactly makes them the worst? Could I get some clarification on that?

If you look at this through the lens of inverted classification—take today’s elite jazz fusion players, for instance, and then contrast them with the punks, the pop-rockers, or even the goth scene—you start to see a pattern. By what standard is Kurt Cobain consistently placed on those professional "Top 10" or "Top 15" guitarist lists? And why does Jimi Hendrix regularly claim the number one spot, even though almost anyone who has dedicated five or more years to the instrument can technically play twice as well as he ever did? It all boils down to the same thing: it’s about recognizing raw, visceral talent rather than just measuring technical virtuosity—those true masters often get overlooked in favor of pure skill.

I don’t have anything against Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain...
My issue is with the mainstream pop stars on the American charts—people like Taylor Swift or Rolling Stone—they have more money than they know what to do with.

On the other hand, you have talented singers who refuse to sing garbage, and that's why they haven't made it big yet.

If you were living in America or somewhere in Western Europe, a musician with actual talent might actually find an audience... In this country, though, finding a way to make a decent living through music is almost impossible.

All you really need is to know people who know people who know people who know people...

Success is practically a given! 👍

Jason Chavez32 said:all you need is to know people who know people who know people who know people...

success is practically guaranteed! 👍

Haha, 🤣exactly!

rustymaker60 said:A few days ago, I went to see this incredibly talented musician, Mr. XY.
Honestly, I was just floored by how good his music is... he isn't famous yet, and the big question is whether he ever will be.

It really got me thinking about people I know, even some of my own family members who are musicians or serious classical composers—none of them have truly broken through to a level where they can actually make a living from their art, even though they all share one thing: they make high-quality music.

It breaks my heart that in this country, the only ones who seem to survive are those hacky, bottom-tier types who are savvy enough at business to churn out complete garbage, but damn it, that's what sells.
Why does it feel like we live in a place that just rewards absolute lack of taste?!

To be fair, I don't actually know a single artist who makes a comfortable living solely from their work. It’s a tragedy.

And don't even get me started on the sheer amount of capital you need to pour into any kind of "business" when there are no patrons left to fund the dream.😢

So, here is my take on the whole situation: in my spare time, I play the sax, and I actually have my own little jazz band that we gig with every now and then. Any extra cash I make from my day job—which has absolutely nothing to do with music—I set aside in investment funds and stocks. My plan is that once I've built up enough wealth to live comfortably just off dividends and returns (hopefully within the next 10 years), I'll finally transition into being a full-time professional jazz musician.

As for the answer to why "we live in a place that rewards absolute lack of taste," I honestly don't know and I'm not sure I even want to know, but if that's how it feels, then that's how it feels. 🙂

Anyway, that's my two cents; I'll check back in with you all in about 10 years!😁

I mean... who knows? Why don't you just pack up and head to New York City and start grinding toward a professional music career in a year or two? ... It’s not like location matters much anyway; on this forum, you can log in from basically anywhere in the country. We’re all just one big, happy 🙂

bluemaker said:Here is my take on all of this: I play the sax in my free time, and I even have a jazz band that performs occasionally. I take the extra money from my day job—which has nothing to do with music—and put it into investment funds and stocks. Once I’ve built up enough wealth to live solely off dividends and returns (hopefully within the next 10 years), I plan to transition into being a professional jazz musician.

As for the question of why we live in such a provincial place where absolute tastelessness is rewarded, I honestly don't know and I'm not particularly interested in finding out, but if that's the reality, then that's the reality. 🙂

Anyway, that's all for now; I'll check back in about 10 years. 😁

Well, that is certainly doable—working an eight-hour shift and playing music on the side.
I really admire those who managed to attend a music high school alongside a traditional academic or vocational school, and then went on to study law or medicine and still became professional musicians... hats off to them. 👍

So, the prerequisites are: initial capital, networking skills, social agility, luck, timing, immense hard work, and talent, of course.
Talent alone is useless if you aren't working on yourself every single day, and all of that is futile if you don't have the financial means.

Regarding jazz, there is a musician in my family (sax and clarinet), so I can tell you they actually made a living from it for a while... quite interesting, though that was back before the modern era.

boldscout72 said:Talented musicians make the absolute worst performers. 😬

You won't find anyone like that on this forum. 😬

<rednek> 😬 *spits on the ground*

Nicholas Perez33 said:<rednek> we don't even want them </rednek> 😬 *spit*

It really shows how much hate there is for anyone who can play anything more complex than Far Coast.😬

The fourth chord is basically just loading up with lead! 😬

Dennis Baker said:even Jimi Hendrix stays at number one, even though anyone playing for five years straight would sound twice as good as him..

😂 🙂

Man, I'm just gonna sit this one out.

Yes, I think that take on Jimi Hendrix is a bit much.
🤔A bit?

It’s actually quite fascinating when you consider that one of the premier fusion guitarists working today, John Doe, released an album titled "Red" back in 2002, featuring various Hendrix standards. In one particular interview, he mentioned that Hendrix’s playing style remains a massive enigma to him—this album was essentially his first attempt at cracking the code. He even remarked, "Music is Universal." It really makes you think. You have this jazz musician who spends twelve hours a day practicing his craft, yet he still struggles to define the mechanics behind Hendrix's technique. Meanwhile, over here, you see some kid who’s been playing for five years acting like they’ve already surpassed the legend himself. Total delusion.

Baba Yaga said:If you look at it through an inverted lens, just compare today's premier jazz fusion players against any punk, pop-rocker, or goth musician. By what standard is Kurt Cobain consistently ranked in the top 10 or 15 guitarists on professional lists, while Jimi Hendrix regularly takes the number one spot—even though anyone playing for five years straight probably plays twice as well as him? It seems to me everything boils down to how we recognize true talent versus technical masters who get overlooked.

It appears you haven't studied Hegel or his dialectics.