“Who can afford to go to multiple shows?” says the anonymous tour manager. “Two tickets to a show, you’re talking probably about $200 with fees and everything. You go to a meal around the show, you’re talking at least $100 or $200 for a nice dinner. Then you got parking and babysitters, then you add the VIP stuff to that and you want to make it a special night, you’re talking $500 to $1,000 a night for a couple to go out. It’s capitalism at its best.”
Yep, there’s a long internet post from the late 90s by Courtney Love that lays it all out. The labels make all the money from record sales and it wasn’t rare for artists to end up owing the label money after making a record.
Oh well then I guess it’s okay and fuck all the artists.
No one said it’s okay.
We said “buying albums doesn’t directly support artists”.
Artists make a recording of a bunch of songs. A label buys that copy of a recording and makes a bunch of prints.
Album goes on to make millions, band had sold that copy of the recording so doesn’t get anything from the secondary selling.
Label then licenses that recording to Spotify. Spotify then makes money on people’s subscriptions and gives the 60% to the label they licensed it from. Notice how the artist isn’t involved here?
No one is a fucking slave you idiot, and no one is justifying it. Pirate the album and go to shows and buy their merchandise. This has always been the way, and remains the way.