Hi,

As usual on Mudcat I don't understand most of the thread, with all the "Name: You're [wrong]" bits where I don't understand why they're not "Well, in my opinion ..." bits. But I do see some patterns.

The simple one is the one about playing music as work. For most, that's the well known: It's only work if you'd rather do something else. The more difficult one is: If you're not working then, should you be paid for creating an opportunity that someone else uses to make profit? That's one most societies don't have an answer for.

It's the difference between intention and result. On the other side of the spectrum it's the thief that steals a trinket without knowing that it's worth millions: Should he be punished for his intention which was no big crime, or for the result which definitely was costly? Should we on our side be rewarded according to our intention to just have fun making music, or according to the resulting opportunity for others to make a profit?

Where I am concerned, I've been raised to be grateful for the created opportunity, were I the profit maker, and thus to seek to reward the creator of the opportunity. But likewise I've been raised not to claim what I didn't work for, and I would therefore have to refuse such a reward if offered. A polite reversed barter would probably be the result in that situation, creating a middle ground between intention and result, just like the thief is probably likely to get a punishment somewhere in between the two extremes.

So, would I feel exploited if someone made money of me having fun? No, I don't think I do. But I might notice someone's bad manners if serious profit never resulted in any form of thanks for the opportunity. (It would probably take me longer than most people to notice, but eventually I would come to the conclusion that they were not well-mannered.) So, what would I do about such bad manners? Nothing; that's not how I was brought up. But maybe, if we're talking about people accumulating personal wealth, I would bee able to break through my upbringing and not help them when they could use a hand. I guess what goes around comes around.
                                                               Mysha