The fact that it's possible to make a living at it doesn't mean it is remotely typical to be able to. To do so you need to be some combination of extremely tale

The fact that it's possible to make a living at it doesn't mean it is remotely typical to be able to. To do so you need to be some combination of extremely talented and extremely good at all those other things (marketing oneself, etc). Just like my ex, she could of course point to people who were making a good living as opera stars, but there were far more people who got the masters degree in operatic performance, and then did other things to actually buy the groceries. And you are right that recorded music is hard to make a living at as well. Some people do, but the vast majority fail. Whether classical or otherwise, recorded or live, everyone in music is competing against mass produced, broadcast or streamed recorded music. You can't just learn to play piano and get hired at a saloon anymore.