Nobody here is talking about Bob Dylan. We are talking about Joe Smith (John's brother). Every time a discussion like this comes up people start pointing to firmly established stars as their example. That is NOT apples to apples.

Much the same way I used to have people tell me, after saying "I'm too old for this stuff", that Paul McCartney is in his 70s. Well, hurrah for Paul. If your believe your metaphor connecting one of the most famous songwriters and performers in the history of songwriters and performers to some shlub in Cleveland that nobody has ever heard of and doesn't care about, then it holds water. McCartney was more famous by age 22 than I ever dreamed of being.

So, on topic, Dylan could release a CD of nursery rhyme covers and the Dylan cultists would buy millions of copies. He doesn't HAVE to impress anybody anymore. And you can take ANY major star and put their name in that statement. "They" are not relevant to "us". Compare THIS fat old short guy in Ohio to other fat old short guys. Doesn't it follow that for THIS fat old short guy to sell more units than the other fat old short guys, THIS fat old short guy has to write better songs and perform them better than the other fat old short guys? Turning out half finished work blends me into the gray when I need to be shimmering white to get attention.

And for the record, I don't own even one Dylan album. I am not that great a fan. I recognize, but not idolize, his writing. Success is usually relative to the time in which it was achieved. This is 2018.

I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.