[drusenko]

"Making a living" is simply doing something that enough people find value in -- the more people and the greater the value provided, the more money you make.

Many artists focus on the process of art as one that is for themselves, which is completely fine - but don't expect to make a living out of it unless you are lucky and what you like is also what a lot of other people find value in.

Some of the art/music that the author describes as "mediocre" really should be "mediocre to me". Lots of popular music, for example, seems to find a common denominator that can appeal to the preferences of a large number of people with pretty divergent artistic/musical tastes, knowledge, education, preferences, etc. Many people find the music to be very enjoyable -- the author not included, obviously.

In that way, art and music can diverge. While successful music often provides somewhat smaller value to a large number of people, successful art can provide large value to a smaller number of people who can afford it.

In either case, understanding your target market, their characteristics, preferences, etc, is extremely worthwhile, because if you want to make a living from it, you need to be providing value to others and not just yourself.

That's not to say that all art has to be for others, just that you probably shouldn't expect to make a living on it if you have a target market of one.

[the_cat_kittles]

i think its a little incongruous how people are much more open to the idea of pure science research, or math research, than the equivalent in music or art. both cases can yield untold benefits down the line.

[7steps2much]

The thing about science or math is that people do in fact not pay for those things. The government does most of the times (Universities) or cooperations do (research labs). I do not know a person that funds research themselves.

By the way, at least in my country (Austria) the government also spends money on artists, though I will admit that I am not aware of how big that part of the budget is. Most likely smaller than R&D though.

But in general most people also indirectly fund these things. Want a better camera in your phone? For that you will need better sensors, for that you need better factories, etc. At some point you reach the mathematicians or other scientists that are somewhat far removed from the product.