Hello everybody – I thought you'd all gone away!

Been following this thread with interest since the start, but too loaded down with other jobs to contribute before. Now here's my belated two-penn'orth.

To begin with the obvious – this has been a very useful discussion. We owe Lizzie a debt for starting it (even those of us who disagree with her opinions or dislike her rhetoric). But although many sensible and relevant points have been made, something still seems missing.

Agreed: there are many acceptable reasons for playing gratis –supporting a worthy cause – bringing some neglected or undervalued music to a wider audience – getting a foot on the first rung of the professional ladder – or just for the fun of it…

Also agreed: in showbiz, as in any other biz, market forces prevail - if your name on the bill puts bums on seats, some entrepreneur will pay you for showing up - if not, then not. (It may not be nice and it may not be fair, but we don't live in Utopia.)

And yet … and yet … there's a question lurking here that we haven't confronted. Please bear with me while I try to explain.

We all know of many talented performers (and composers) who have tried, tried and tried again, yet still failed to make a tolerable living from their craft. Most of them eventually returned to the conventional labour market and got on with their lives fairly successfully. But too many – including some of the most gifted – have fallen into despair, and then into drink, or drugs, or suicide. (We can all make our own lists, but the name that comes first to my mind is Peter Bellamy's.)

A few of these tragic figures were acquaintances of mine, and one or two were friends.   Thinking about them now, I ask myself (and anyone out there listening) are we 'music lovers' partly to blame for what happened? Are we guilty of expecting to get too much and give too little in our favourite leisure pursuit? And if so is it the same everywhere else?

Well, many Brits who perform 'our' sort of music (please let's not try defining it now) have said in interviews that when working abroad they are usually better paid (and treated with more respect) than they are at home. (Over the years a fair number have said this to me in person.) Some of them have eventually graduated from extensive overseas touring to full-time expatriate status – not from choice, but from sheer economic necessity.

Do we just shrug and say 'so it goes'?   Or do we need to think again about our priorities and our obligations?

What do you think?

Wassail!