Aptitude (because “talent” gets thrown around primarily by people outside the area of expertise), gets you the easy stuff fast. But over time, a work ethic, enthusiasm, and curiosity tend to outpace it. The Socials are of course saturated with people who are both young and at least moderately skilled, because our culture fetishizes youth and potential over maturity and expertise. I’d rather keep making a steady living with music in anonymity than worry about how many likes I got and what my streaming metrics look like.