Music Breakdown: Rick Beato Is Right About Rich Kids in Music — But That’s Not the Full Story
Recently, legendary producer, engineer, and music educator Rick Beato sparked a major online debate after posting a video titled “Why Only Rich Kids Make It In Music Today.” The response was immediate and emotional. Thousands of musicians flooded the comments agreeing that the modern industry feels financially impossible unless you already come from money, connections, or some form of built-in safety net.
It is not hard to understand why the argument resonated. Rent is higher than ever. Touring has become brutally expensive. Streaming payouts are microscopic for most artists. Local rehearsal spaces are disappearing in many cities. Meanwhile, mainstream pop increasingly feels dominated by artists who arrive with elite producers, management teams, entertainment-industry families, and years of invisible development already funded before the audience hears a single song.
Beato points directly at examples like Gracie Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter, and other artists connected to wealth or entertainment infrastructure as evidence that modern music increasingly rewards access over raw discovery. And to a certain extent, he is right.
But the deeper question underneath the entire conversation is one Beato never fully answers: what exactly does “making it” even mean anymore?