One of my neighbors offered me a couple of free tickets to a Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert in the Congress Center here the other day. They had an unexpected emergency and couldn't go. I politely declined for several reasons, the primary one being that I wasn't interested and secondly, I thought the tickets should go to someone that actually wanted to see that concert and would feel comfortable being a part of that audience. But my point is:

She paid $250.00 for those tickets (and I don't even know if they were good seats). I remember so vividly people grumbling about paying a $5.00 cover charge to see us at a Jazz club. But even in a concert setting, I only paid $40.00 to see McCoy Tyner (a jazz gaint) in concert at Georgia Tech (at least the place was packed). Obviously public tastes are what determines your worth (at least your monetary worth). It's no wonder so many accomplished musicians are seduced into playing beneath their musical capabilities. On the other hand, artists of the stature of a Tim McGraw certainly deserve to have the very best musicians available, no matter how simple the music. After all, music is a matter of taste (and accessibility), not complexity of form. MacDonalds will always grossly outsell a small gourmet restaurant every day of the week.

chas