When I was little I always though that being famous was a merit thing. If a musician was known it was because he or she was excepcional in his/her art: an incredible singer, a highly skilled guitarist, an amazing drummer.
But then I got older and saw a lot of gigs, and a lot of disciplined and truly amazing musicians that nobody heard about… And most were struggling financially, having a side job just to get by. How come? What is missing from them that the “icons” have?
Musicians were getting screwed by labels long before streaming became a thing, and labels are still mostly where the money disappears to