Back in the 70s, most artists made little or no money from touring. You played live to promote your album, which made you the real money. Today, it's the opposi

Back in the 70s, most artists made little or no money from touring. You played live to promote your album, which made you the real money. Today, it's the opposite. Your album is practically worthless, but it might persuade people to pay $60+ to see your arena tour. The album is effectively a free sample of the "real" product, the live show. The recording industry isn't stupid, so most major artists are now signed on "360 deals" - the record label gets a share of everything, from streaming to tickets to merchandise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/360_deal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/360_deal