I Missed the Money Part...

I talk a lot both here on Persist: The Blog and in the book, "Persist," about the way in which traditional creative values are skewed by celebrity and money. In the story I relayed to you below, as the first entry of the day, I spotted the irony about celebrity, but completely missed the money part. The total of $32 left in the musician's hat are a poignant and, yes, deeply ironical reminder of how the monetary values we associate with art get skewed. How much are we willing to pay to support our artists? How much, as creative people, do we expect--or deserve--to get paid for our work? Should the quality of the work we do or the reach of our reputation be proportionate to our financial return? Is it possible to make this happen? Read on, below, and get lost in these speculations! Confusion awaits!