What saddens me most though, is the attitude that "entertainment" is intrinsicly more valuable than the art form itself. It saddens me to hear excuses like "make a living and support his family"; but the fact is, there are many ways to make a living and support your family, you CHOSE music. Doesn't that require that you learn your craft (as much as a cabinet maker or master chef).

The art itself has limited value. If nobody apprecited motzart nomatter how talented he was his name would have disappeared without a mention in any history book. I am sure he really loved his music and luckily for him so did a lot of others. Lets not kid ourselves, the music only has intrinsic value to the artist. If it has no comercial value then its dead in the water. I assume those of you that perform professionally do so with the satisfacton that they are getting paid. Be true to your "art" if thats what you need to do to get job satisfaction but dont forget the bottom line. If music is your livelihood and you forget why you are getting paid. Making a living is never an excuse, its the reason you work professionally as a musician . If thats not the truth of a working musicians baseline then i will happily book the "artist" here for a couple of pounds for n evenings "entertainment".