Artists, as a group, unquestionably add value to a society. Whether or not a given individual artist adds sufficient value to society to justify them &quot;deserving a good living&quot; is a very different question. A question that is not to blithely glossed over with vague assertions about sizable classes of people.<p>An album in which an artist has key creative control is not bespoke labor. It&#x27;s self-expression, a very different form of work. Software engineers generally perform bespoke, custom, specified labor for others who control what that labor looks like and produces. For this, said engineers are compensated for their time and labor. Said engineers do not generally expect to own the result, just as a portrait artist does not expect to own the commissioned piece.<p>May you have a long and prosperous career in which you fit your business model to the times in which you live. With luck, you&#x27;ll even manage what the rest of us have - a way to profit from your passions.