Good points Ryst....and I agree with everything you say to a point. I agree we are blessed. I've been around since the days when all you could get was analogue synths....which the manufacturers told us could create ANY sound the mind could imagine (yeah right). I look at the samples we have today and I am thankful. But before we wax with joy too much, I need to throw a wet blanket over the celebration. If you just want to create your own music for your own enjoyment, you can celebrate. I disagree with you just a bit, that you can stand out using the samples we have today with your own unique creativity. That is true. But, it's not the full picture. The quality and cost of music equipment and samples are awesome right now. But, f you want to sell things or have a career as a composer, musicians are in the same place they have always been. It's not just skill and creativity that bring success. I used to work in a recording studio and I worked with some REALLY good bands...better than anything you heard on the radio (this was before the internet). They had a unique sound, amazing skill and plenty of angst...none of them went anywhere because they didn't have the right contacts or "luck". The most creative ones typically have no business sense and have to connect with people that do and find some way of keeping their demons in check to avoid self destruction. Success often boiled down to being in the right place at the right time and meeting the right people. Skill and creativity improve your chances...but we all know people without much of either who have achieved fame and fortune. Look at all the big name creative artists....do a careful look. How many of them are children of other famous creative artists? How many of them came from wealthy families with connections? Nick Cage just happens to have Francis Ford Coppola as an Uncle, Angelina Joli has John Voigt as a father, Ben Stiller came from a father and mother who were both famous comedians. Carly Simon is the daughter of one of the co-founders of Simon and Schuster (father) and a classical pianist (mother). If you spend some time doing research you will be astonished how many fit this picture. I'm not saying that these people aren't talented...I'm just saying that there are hundreds of thousands of other equally talented individuals who don't have the right connections who never make it. You can argue that performers have to have a "look" as well as a sound and composers are free of all that. But composers need luck and connections too. And now that composing is becoming so much easier there are more composers and more of a need to have connections to succeed. Some may say if you stick with it you eventually your skill will provide you with luck....sure, but what about those who have to work a job and have far fewer hours to devote to their art than those with wealthy parents? Still there are those like Hans Zimmer, who slipped in through the back door...but he got lucky with his contacts and he was also blessed with an outgoing, likable personality. What are the chances for an introverted genius from a small town today? I also write fiction...it's the same thing there. There are a gazillion talented writers, but only a few big publishers, and they all want name recognition BEFORE they make a contract with you. Talents and skill? Those are so common, they can always find those. Sure they need to work with agencies to sort out the junk, but after that there are many, many talented writers. Talent alone does not bring success. You can self publish of course, and some with the right tech skills can sometimes come up with a cool trick to rise to the top. But if you have the money and connections you can simply buy your way to best seller status. A San Diego firm called ResultSource will literally guarantee you a number one spot on the New York Times Best seller list if you have a quarter of a million dollars to invest. they know the stores the New York Times monitors and they do a massive buy up of books form these stores from hundreds of private accounts. Once you get #1 status the books start to sell on their own and you make your money back. Am I complaining? Not completely. Mozart was born into an ideal situation with parents who trained him and marketed his skill before he knew what was going on. Bach came from a musical family and had to apply for jobs at churches and do as he was told. It's never been easy or fair for musicians. So back to my original point. I love this new sound set from Heavyocity, and I love that you don't have to be trained at a conservatory and have access to an orchestra and a recoding studio to produce good music. But having things so good is going to increase the competition and will make it harder to stand out. It's a good thing and it's a bad thing at the same time.