Without YouTube, I dare say I might not have bought… what… sixteen of the albums in my current collection? Almost all of the music I've bought is from artists I first heard on YouTube.
He uses the word piracy which doesn't apply here, but I think what he says is relevant in this context: a lot of people hear music for free, like it, and then buy it. Maybe they hear it for free on the radio, through torrenting, or through youtube. Although the radio and torrenting does generate revenue as well as promotion whereas torrenting only does promotion.
I don't think it's reasonable to say "oh, if you want to make money with music, you should just spend 6 months of the year living in a van traveling the country".
Even an author, typically far more introverted than a musician, has to seriously consider hitting the road to do book signings and interviews for any hope of success.
Sell a soundboard recording of the show I went to for $25 on the spot as I leave. I went to the show so I now have an emotional connection to that particular performance. Will this get shared? Sure, but the majority of people downloading bootlegs own the artists' oeuvre anyway.