One of my objectives when I retire is to play more music. I have too many friends who are trying to make a living playing music to compete with them by giving my talents away for free. In my community and social circle it is not acceptable for me to play certain types of shows without receiving payment, but I enjoy playing those types of shows. In fact, it's one of the reasons I want to retire — is to play more music at a quality level that people are willing to pay for, in times and places where others have arranged audiences to listen to me.
Mind you, I try to avoid using words that indicate I'm taking money to play music. I take money to organize the event, drive there, practice for it, arrange the songs, hire the other musicians, pay someone else as a sub if I'm sick, and all that. I also take money out of principle, to support the idea that quality musicians are valuable just like quality plumbers and quality engineers and quality lawyers are valuable.