>Fifty, maybe a hundred violinists in the entire world do earn a pure living. This has to be off by at least two orders of magnitude. The Reykjavik symphonic

>Fifty, maybe a hundred violinists in the entire world do earn a pure living. This has to be off by at least two orders of magnitude. The Reykjavik symphonic orchestra in Iceland alone employs some 30 full time violinists. The nation's population is less than El Paso, tx - which also employs some 80 musicians in their symphonic orchestra. Your main point might still have merit, but this forum is one where missing the numbers by so much will distract many readers. It distracted me, at least. :) Pop musicians have fewer options and need to chase gigs, but the payoffs are also larger if they make it. One-hit wonders drive Ferraris.