FYI, a lot of local singing and music schools tend to put false assumptions on people. You remember how on shows like American Idol, you hear a lot of people say they were trained? Well the thing is if you're paying someone 1000s of dollars, they'd probably kiss your ass and call it candy. So a lot of people think they're "good" but in reality, they're just terrible. Also, music equipments cost a lot of money. In the sum of 10~30k. I don't think a college drop-out would even make close to that much. Especially if he has to drop out for the specific purpose of pursuing his dream.

You can create a home recording studio for a lot less than that. If you have one decent mic and a good digital studio with direct tap input (like Cubase or Logic) then you don't need much more, as the mix desks and so on are all built in. And if you're interested in this stuff at high school level it's highly likely you can access the tech from there and get a student discount. Also, if you're a decent player then you should be able to work with lower quality stuff. Case in point- it takes a helluva lot more effects, work and prodution time to make Britney Spears sound decent than Queen Latifah. I agree that it was a misguided thing to do, but it's probably more expensive in terms of the education lost than the recording equipment.

You really believe that if anyone is into recording and performing music enough to drop out of college that they have been pursuing their dream for years in advance and are already set up and capable of doing professional quality work themselves? That is pretty ignorant. Hell I know people who dropped out of college to sit in their garage and make pottery. Doesn't mean it was the right choice, but people make stupid choices all of the time. This OP definitely made a bad choice, that alone points to the idea that it is most likely not bullshit to begin with. OP: At least you are getting some exposure. More people will hear your music by pirating it online and come to see live shows and buy albums than if you just play at some local venues. Now days it's a good way to get your name out there. It sucks for you in the sense that you won't profit much, but in the music industry you will be lucky if you ever make it far enough to get a real profit anyhow. If you are doing it for love of the music and not for the money then don't worry about it.

REAL friends will pay the $5 for a cd you spent $10k on if they really like it. Hell, they should do that even if they don't.

So so so true...

+1