You don't even need all the equipment listed in the article. I've been making music for years with just my laptop, a cheap Focusrite audio interface ($150), a p

You don't even need all the equipment listed in the article. I've been making music for years with just my laptop, a cheap Focusrite audio interface ($150), a pair of studio headphones (Sennheiser HD280), a cheap keyboard (Akai MPK Mini) and copies of Ableton and Serum synth. You can still spend an inordinate amount of money on hardware and software. If I bought every plugin I really wanted, I would likely end up spending a couple of thousand. Throw in a better audio interface ($500+), a good keyboard ($400), a pad controller ($200+), and a better computer ($1500+) and you can easily add up to several thousand dollars. But the point remains: it's absurdly cheap to start producing music today. You can get near studio quality with gear that, outside of your computer, won't cost more than $1k.