Real Musicians don't make money.

[David Jayne]

As a long time business guy, the guy making this claim in the OP epitomizes the pure artist mindset that is unrealistic, temperamental, and almost fascist in claiming the universality of his position.

I call these people artist types -- they get animated about a certain position -- here are the ones I've heard in this camp.

1. Real musicians only play jazz -- everyone else is inferior.
2. If you don't play an instrument of at least such and such a scale, you're not a real bass player
3. If you play covers you're not a real musician.
4. If you claim you have a leg up on on upright bass due to decades of electric bass playing, you're not a real musician.
5. If your music is commercial, then you're not a musician.

The root of this is that at some point, the person decided they were better than other people because of some achievement they had. And when they make comments like this, my thought is that music has tainted their personality rather than enobling it. In other words, from a character perspective, music has made them worse off than if they hadn't any experience with music at all.

I used to be one of those types. I thankfully grew out of it and now happily plod away making bank in a wedding band.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Doesn't matter the instrument or genre, musician has been a PROFESSION for centuries.

 

[bluesblaster]

starving artist ( or musician ) doesn't sound all that appealing

 

[Chris Doherty]

If nobody played for free, we'd all be rich and/or not a gigging musician.