Karla and Miguel Rujel made their first flight in 1991.

Like many children their age — Karla, then 11, and Miguel then 9 — they had reason to be anxious. What would it be like to soar above the clouds? Would it be scary? Would they face turbulence?

Unlike many children, however, the siblings had no idea what awaited for them once they stepped off the tarmac. This wouldn’t be a family vacation where the outcome would be predictable. Instead, they would be stepping out into an entirely new life.

A tunnel of inky blackness or a view from six feet under — the outlook for a music industry founded on record stores flooded with agitated depends on one's perspective.

That isn't to say music as an art form has breathed its last breath.

In fact, the very tools that have rendered the compact disc with near boutique-like status are connecting musicians to a global audience. But with ownership of digital music one mouse click away, how does a promising musical talent break out from the new glass ceiling formed by file sharing and expedient web fame?

By moving forward.

Follow Meredith Fierke, an accomplished Minnesota-based singer/songwriter, in her drive towards a life fueled by music.

Visit The Train Song, a continuing collaboration, featuring Fierke's blog entries accompanied photographs by photojournalist Dan Iverson that provides an intimate perspective to the music business today.