As someone who has been in the professional music scene for over a decade trying to ‘break through’ and has seen many others trying the same, sometimes it’s about how good people are at their instrument/songwriting/art but more often it’s about luck and what connections and/or funding you have. I’ve seen people who are truly creative and work hard build impressive success from basically nothing. I also know plenty of people who are just as creative and hardworking spin their wheels and get nowhere. Frankly, i suspect this has always been the case. Ability alone has very very rarely been enough