Why are musicians stilll getting paid about the same as they were twenty years ago? Could it be sort of like hookers? There are so many ameteurs out there doing it for free...

That depends greatly on what you are performing. Blues doesnt pay anything anymore, mainly because their are so many losers out there that spend so much time at Blues Jams that when a Blues gig comes their way, the club owner will offer an 8 piece blues band $100.00 for the night, and they will jump at it with stars in their eyes as if they had just found their "Golden Gig". Once that happens, there is no way a blues club owner will pay anything more than that if he knows he can get away with it. Dance bands make the real money and get into the good clubs. The point is, if you keep the dance floor full, and the drinks pouring, the cash register gets full, the owner stays happy, and the bands get raised. Bands offering only original material always start out making nothing because nobody wants to book original acts unless they already have a good following that keeps the cash register flowing. Rock bands dont make that much because of the same reasons. You dont dance to it, you just sit there, nurse your beer and listen to it, so the bar stays quiet, and the club makes nothing, so the money is always weak. The amateurs you speak of are definitely ruining it for those that really earn the good gigs. Club owners always get frustrated by "wanna be's" that cant stay in the pocket, so it makes them even more cautious to spend the cash where it belongs. This frustrates the musicians that truly deserve the work, and the cycle repeats itself. Amateurs and "wanna be's" should stay at the jams or go back to the karaoke bars where they belong.

I'm studying music at Grafton TAFE and I was wondering, could anyone out there please tell me when the working musicians forum was established? I need to know ASAP as I'm doing research as part of my studies.