Found at boingboing.net The excellent free peer-reviewed net-journal First Monday has published an exhaustive survey of the earnings made by British and German musicians. Their conclusion? Copyright doesn't give creators a living, and in many cases (such as clearing samples) it costs them more than they can afford.

"According to a GEMA (German collecting society) insider, only about 1,200 German composers can live from their creative output.

Only a small minority of artists reaches ordinary living standards from copyright income...

If an artist wants to include a sample from another record, major rights holders often insist on a controlling interest of 50 to 100 percent of the rights in the new track." Read the survey