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@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis "We" don't reward "rappers and football players" to that degree. "We" reward what "we" think of as the *best* rappers and football players to that degree. The majority of rappers and football players basically get nothing.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis The reason the *best* nurses (for instance) don't get the same ridiculously high level of compensation for their efforts is mostly related to the fact it's much more difficult for millions of people to meaningfully judge the quality of work of a single nurse.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis The nature of the business is such that nurses see much fewer people experiencing their services, and on a case-by-case basis people individually pay much less for listening to music than getting direct health care from a nurse; more people each experience music more times.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis This leads to more people giving a favorable impression of a single rapper (for instance) than of a single nurse. This boosts the popularity of that rapper more than of that nurse, and no public consensus of the "best" nurses emerges, so they don't get multimillion-dollar deals.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis Invent with a way to change nurse relationships with clientele so it can compete in that reputation-building manner with rappers and you might see that relationship change, but part of the problem with doing that is the fact nursing quality is tied to personalized experience.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis The rapper and the football player serve a different need for people, too. See Maslow's hierarchy of needs (though Maslow's simplistic description isn't exactly as applicable as people once thought). If your health needs are met, entertainment importance increases.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis There are still other things that contribute to this -- some much more insidious and harmful than what I've already described. For instance, copyright law creates a tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of a very few middlemen (see the NFL and the RIAA).
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis That concentration gives those middlemen much more power to manipulate the market, which it does to minimize their own costs while maximizing their revenues. This means, among other things, picking fewer "winners" amongst players/teams/leagues and artists.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis To encourage more winner-takes-all competition amongst aspiring rappres, pick specific winners and promote the crap out of them, and reap the rewards without having to support as many rapper careers, is to maximize profits in copyright industry giants.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis To a lesser degree, the NFL does the same thing with trademark management that the RIAA does with copyright management, as the greatest success in the football world is tied pretty tightly to the NFL brand. This is why small numbers of individuals get craptons of money.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis Meanwhile, everyone else who plays football or wants to be a famous rapper gets screwed, and makes less money off it than by just getting a second retail job.
Many of rappers end up broke, by the way, in part because of how RIAA record deals tend to work.
Many of rappers end up broke, by the way, in part because of how RIAA record deals tend to work.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis The "too wealthy to have to worry about money" image is something consciously cultivated by record executives' minions in marketing and A&R. Some rappers (and other people with record deals) legitimately get filthy rich, but many do not.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis Many really think they're that wealthy, but are so deep in debt that a minor setback in popularity can lead to cancellation of a record deal, bankruptcy, and financial ruin in the blink of an eye.
Rewarding rappers vs. nurses isn't just cultural valuation of rappers over nurses.
Rewarding rappers vs. nurses isn't just cultural valuation of rappers over nurses.
@SpockResists @HotFreestyle @unlewis It's more about cultural valuation of institutions such as top-heavy, power-concentrating artificial scarcity schemes enshrined in law. That warps people's business practices with weird incentives, such as in the case of copyright law controlling entertainment and information.
