I've been playing the piano and composing music for over a decade. Last year, I started getting paid as a ghost composer, and since then, I've been composing more songs per week on average than ever before in my life. I don't regret anything; I love everything I've composed for the person who hired me, and getting paid for it is an incredible bonus. It's almost like a dream come true that I never sought or aimed for. I also didn't feel any less of an artist for accepting payment for my work. I simply believe that we need to take some of the romanticism out of the notion that to be a true artist, you have to starve.
