The thing about musicians in the music business is that they are not analogous to employees in the corporation; they are analogous to the burgers in the boxes we buy from McDonalds. Success is wholly irrespective of talent; by any quantifiable measure I suspect there would be no correlation at all. McDonald's sells the most meals of any restaurant in the world. Does that make them the best restaurant? Of course not. It merely makes them the best marketers, with products that lend themselves to mass marketing. Does their food taste the best? Nope. Is it the most nutritious? Nope. Actually, it is laden with fat, sugar, and salt. In the music world, Britney Spears, Eminem, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain and such are the Big Macs. This is not to say that Wendie C and the like should not be ambitious and desirous of success. Quite the contrary. Just that they should understand that the best woman doesn't always (or even usually) win. Let's face it-- musically, we're all a bunch of gourmands in a Big Mac world. But I'll eat at the tiny mon'n'pop sandwich shop over the fast food chain any day of the week. The food will be better. It will be less crowded. And if you play your cards right you may even get an email from Mom or Pop. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gabriel Fuentes" > In the business world or corporate world mediocre talent gets rewarded during the good times and is the first to get punished during the bad times...During the great years of the 90s a lot of people with limited talent and limited minds got promoted since the job market was so tight..but now..many of those same people are finding out that they were really not very good..since in an economic downturn..they are the first to go..and rightfully so..