Hacker News Reader

On the flip side, the reason so many musicians get exploited by the recording industry is because music is supposed to be fun. So their agents arrange for fun and keep the money for themselves.

I think it's more that there's a structure of abusive intermediation (that being the recording industry as a whole, not just the agents) that has successfully inserted itself between creator and audience such that it is able to extract it's troll toll, and artists are unable to route around it because the industry act as gatekeepers and without them you won't be able to reach a large audience.

It's accurate, and completely depressing as you note.

That was a fun read.

> Software can be so exciting and fun, and this “careerist” perspective really sucks the joy out of it.

This reminds me of people arguing that scientists miss life’s beauty because they attempt to analysis it. You can enjoy the wonders of programming while still being mindful of your career progression, one does not preclude the other.