I generally agree with many things Rick says. We will always have Live musicians creating music. We will likely have BIAB or something like it for years to come.

The question is less about how music gets generated than who gets paid. Who gets paid does not always require producing a quality product. We buy a ton of crap every day.

For us here, using BIAB to create songs, who gets paid, is mostly irrelevant. Only a few are getting paid.

Even if a person is a highly skilled musician using any method of production, the results will be the same in most cases. Post on SoundCloud or another site and get a hand full of views. Some magic happens, and you get 5000 views...wow! So what? Get 500,000 views, and things began to change. Get five million views, and a bit of money starts to come in, but you are still basically a nobody.

A few people do win the lottery. A few become well-known musicians, and a few of them get super well-paid. Perhaps someone will hit the jackpot with a BIAB song. Most anything is possible, just not very likely.

All of this comes down to this question. Do you want to be in the music business, or do you want to create music to entertain yourself and a few friends?

There is some uncomfortable truth about living in the USA in 2023. The Walmart parking lot is running over with cars. There is plenty of parking at Neiman Marcus. The ever-ongoing decline of the middle class is causing us to buy less quality music and other goods and services, at higher prices, with less customer service.

There is also a severe lack of regard for quality products. Does an internet-downloaded MP3 played through the headset on a smartphone in any way compared with a vinal album with cover art with written information played through a high-quality stereo system?

Well, it sucks, as I am on my way to Walmart as soon as I get up from this computer!

Billy

“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”