haha i know your pain.
i've had clients drop out leaving me to front the deposit... no one is serious, i've had like 3 jobs on here in like 5 years... i used to freelance on Elance and had great success, but they closed it, made it Upwork where it's near impossible to get hired for anything about 5$.... very depressing.
I'd actually like to make a freelance website which functions a bit like tinder, it's more about portfolio pieces that you just swipe to like. and you build up a library of content from your fav producers and then can contact them with a work offer... That'd be my idea, skip the bull, just show the portfolio pieces.
Anyway good luck to you, we all have our sources of income i guess outside of here :D
keep making music!