The music business is cutthroat.  When I worked in the concert sound business, I once arranged for someone I knew to get hired into a very sweet deal, an annual contract that paid well.  Once he had the gig, he turned around and arranged for my company to be replaced.  When I confronted him, he said, “Hey, it’s just business!”  Just business…  dirty business.  But he was right: it was the way business in that field is conducted.  It also far too often, is the way life seems to work.  That’s why knuckles get broken.  But there is a better way than fists to respond, discovered and written down over 3000 years ago in Psalm 37.  Here it is, with my paraphrase and comments interspersed:

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;   
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.   (Psalm 37:1-2)

[Yes, he ripped you off, but don’t sweat it.  You don’t want to take the path he is heading down.  Instead, keep your eye on long term results, not the immediate perks that sometimes come to those who do wrong.]

To which you may be grumbling, “I don’t want to be a sap who is taken advantage of. Why should I always wind up with the fuzzy end of the lollipop?”  The answer is because it works better!   David continues:

Trust in the LORD, and do good; 

[No matter the circumstances, act out your confidence that God has not lied to you.  Even Jesus went peacefully and confidently to the cross, trusting in His Father, Who had said, “vengeance is mine.”  Do the right thing, even when others seem to prosper by trampling morality.]

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  

[Settle in and appreciate the circumstances into which God has you placed.  Unpack your bags and get comfortable there.  Get to know the character called faithfulness.  Become a good friend and let him rub off on all you do.]

Delight yourself in the LORD, 

[Instead of grudging obedience, find the thrill and joy of following God’s seemingly upside down, counter intuitive ways.]

Here’s the payoff:

and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.  (Psalm 37:3-5)

Simply put, do life God’s way and don’t sweat it.  In the long run, you’ll be very glad.