I guess I would take umbrage at the comment made by the "thread creep" that compares folk singers to folks "who really toil for a living". There is so much more involved than just getting up and singing some folk songs. There are hours of practice and learning your instrument(s), working on your voice, memorizing words and progressions etc, then there are the hours of research, and contacting places to perform,booking yourself, office work that goes along with all that, and then getting to the gig and back,sometimes having to find a place to spend the night,having a vehicle and equipment and time to do it all, and being in good enough shape and health to get up and sing the song.All this is done with no monetary pay.Oh,I forgot to mention the job most of them have to get to afford to do this and the free time to actually create something new songwise. It ain't digging ditches, but it's right in there with a full days work-and then some!

Which brings me back to some advice for the guy who started all this (Matt): be excellent at what you do, contantly look for ways to improve, and learn from the pros like Art and Jed. Don't expect people to pay you for just getting up and singing your favorite songs without the excellence.