I guess its up to the drummers to figure out how to save the music industry. what are you thoughts? To cut out the middle men and make money artist.

I think it’s going the same way it’s been going for decades. Many of the drummers who aren’t really famous have to find a way to make a living by doing a lot of different things at once. The good local drummers I know all teach lessons, gig, play clinics, do local recording, transcribe music, play school assemblies—whatever, you name it. If you’re just surviving on gigs it’s going to be tough because that’s just not the way the world is any more.
I think a lot of drummers sell themselves short, though. They play gigs but don’t try to find these other avenues of making money. Even working at Guitar Center can be worth a shot for a young drummer. They now actively encourage letting employees have time to work in bands and will hold a job open if you have to go on tour. It just takes commitment to be a drummer.

A friend of mine used to play with Brad Paisley in the early days. He says that other drummers would come up to him and say, “Man, how are you scoring such good gigs?” And, he would reply, “How many hours did you practice yesterday?” And, as he tells it, the other drummer would often say, “Oh, yesterday I couldn’t practice. I had to run some errands with my girlfriend and I had to get my car worked on…” And then he would say to the drummer, “There’s your problem, man. When I moved to Nashville I lived in my car and practiced 12 hours a day. That’s how I got the gigs.”