Here’s a beauty stolen from Threads: “If you use Spotify and don’t buy physical music, then stop moaning about the price of concerts.”
Bang on, that, on the very simple grounds that it’s true.
Spotify and other streaming platforms rip off musicians, who receive a tiny fraction of a penny every time someone listens to their work. To all intents and purposes, artists are making music because they love making music. There’s no money in it. Instead, the real money – the only money – is made through touring.
Back in the pre streaming days, artists would make an album and tour in order to promote and sell it. Now, they make an album in order to promote a tour.
Soon, my son and I are going to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at the Bristol Beacon. The cost of very good tickets comes in at £84 a pop. I don’t begrudge that at all. There are six musicians, including Isbell, to pay. Then there’s the road crew and various music techs, the sound system and all the other expenses of touring, such as overnight accommodation and tour buses. I’d imagine Isbell makes a decent living from touring but not enough to retire on, hence the fact he is regularly on tour.
The superstar acts don’t bother with small halls like the Bristol Beacon. Harry Styles is playing Christ knows how many shows at Wembley Stadium, charging substantial three figures sums for tickets. I’d imagine he does rather better than the likes of Isbell in terms of earnings, but putting on a show in a stadium will not be cheap. And he will make next to nothing from making music.
Anyway, it’s entirely up to us whether we want to pay to see someone. Me? I’ll buy the ticket, I’ll buy the album and I’ll happily buy overpriced merch if it means that the artist is able to keep touring and making new music. It is entirely your shout if you stream your music, rather than paying for it the old fashioned way but there are consequences, one of which is that musicians still have to make money to put bread on the table. The ones really getting ripped off are the artists, not the fans. After all, no one forces us to pay huge prices to see Harry Styles. Thank God.
