06/27/2025
Time to Choose
If you care about live music, it’s time to start asking harder questions about who benefits, who sacrifices, and what happens if nothing changes.
Because this industry can be better—and everyone who loves it deserves more than burnout in exchange for someone else’s profit.
Where Does the Money Go?
When Passion Becomes a Commodity
We love this industry.
There’s nothing like seeing a crew build something from nothing every day. Nothing like a band transforming a stage into a memory people carry for life.
But it’s getting harder to pretend this system still works.
It Didn’t Always Look Like This
There was a time when touring was a path to grow—when you could start in a van, build a following, sell CDs at the table, and step up to theaters. When ticket prices were reasonable, merch money stayed in artists’ pockets, and the middle tier could make a living.
Today, Live Nation reports over $22.7 billion in revenue. Their CEO earns $33 million. Ticketmaster adds 20–40% fees on every ticket. Venues take 20–35% of merch. Streaming pays fractions of a cent per play.
A mid-level artist grossing $500,000 on tour might clear $50–70K before taxes—split across the whole band. Many crew earn $1,200–$2,800 a week, with no benefits, no retirement, no safety net when the tour ends.
All or Nothing
What used to be a DIY path to opportunity has become an all-or-nothing venture. Stadium acts thrive. Everyone else absorbs the risk while the same corporations profit at every layer—ticketing, promotion, venues, resale.
It’s an economy that feeds on passion and sells it back at a markup.
What It Could Be
It doesn’t have to stay like this.
Imagine a touring model where:
• Merch revenue belongs to the artists who earned it.
• Ticketing fees are capped and transparent.
• Crew are paid fairly, with benefits and protections.
• Mid-tier artists can build sustainable careers instead of gambling everything on a single run.
• Fans know their money supports the people creating the experience, not just shareholders.
Time to Choose
If you care about live music, it’s time to start asking harder questions about who benefits, who sacrifices, and what happens if nothing changes.
Because this industry can be better—and everyone who loves it deserves more than burnout in exchange for someone else’s profit.
