This isn't true, it's more an amalgamation of half-truths and repeated statements from other people. The first sentence is only (occasionally) true in the case

This isn't true, it's more an amalgamation of half-truths and repeated statements from other people. The first sentence is only (occasionally) true in the cases of artists signed to big-label contracts - very out of date in today's day and age, where most indie musicians don't even consider trying to get signed to a label. Meanwhile, the labels DID get money from record sales. Piracy hurt labels and not artists because piracy hurt record sales, which went towards the labels' bottom lines and not the artists. But in a world where the record sales actually go to the artists' bottom lines, piracy does hurt the physical sales of the artists. The real money does not come from live shows and merch. This is generally debunked elsewhere.