Honestly, aside from the original comment where it seemed as though you were attacking the idea of me posting his rate I really had no problem with anything you have said. In retrospect I can agree that I probably took it more personal than I should have since I felt as if you were saying "im an industry guy and the things you are doing are below me and everybody else who is in the industry!", at least that is how I perceived it.
Not at all, that's not how I meant it. There were several points that you completely misread or misunderstood me as well. For example, I was never advocating paying someone brand new to the business the same rate as someone established. But reading your response to me - that's how you understood it. Clearly there was some misunderstanding here and there. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough myself. I think if we were discussing face-to-face things would have gone much better. I was firm with you, however, because in the 7 years I've been on GD.net this was the first time someone tried to publicly post someone's private information. And I simply found that unacceptable and wanted to put a stop to it immediately. It wasn't meant to be personal but I wanted to make sure both you and anyone reading this would know that kind of action wouldn't be tolerated. But enough about that.
All proceeding posts have been more than informative and a joy to read. This thread has been very informative and I hope that it can help other developers who are looking to find information on musical rates. All in all, thanks!
I'm very thankful for all that take part in this forum and most of the threads have been very positive. This is a minor blemish and I don't want it to tarnish your impression of GD.net and it certainly doesn't tarnish my impression of you. It was just a minor thing that we've already worked out. We have a great mix of seasoned pros (Brian's a great example) as well as experienced folks active in the indie field on top of industry noobs. The discussions and sharing of thoughts and approaches is awesome!
Would me linking my current work, via dropbox link, here and asking what people thought the rate/quality be allowed?
If you wanted to share the work to get an overall impression of quality and feedback, that's fine! No problem! I think it would cross the line if you said something akin to "This artist [insert artist's name here] charged me $50 per animation. Is it worth it?" That would be too much because it's not your business or role to publicly share another's rate. That's their business. And that's the distinction I've been trying to make repeatedly. The contact shared his rates, which are not shared publicly on his website. Sharing this information publicly is very different than a "isn't Nathan Madsen a jerk." thread. 
Besides, you're 100% right - I would shut down a thread that was bashing you (or anyone else here) as well. I want this forum to be a positive and encouraging place - and for the most part, it is!
Everything else I've been saying is mainly look for the best crew you can in your given budget and be careful when taking on free work because it can backfire. That's about it. But we're at the high risk of beating a dead horse here. No harm, no foul. I'm glad to have you here and as I said in my first response to you - I applaud you looking for more info!! I just want to respect other's right to privacy as well. Make sense?
