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All those articles and blog posts hammering on the "make money by playing live shows" theme, feel to my European tastes as written by Texan rednecks, whose idea of music is Willie Nelson or something... (and DMB is not that far off).

Oh please. Live shows aren't an American thing. AC/DC, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Who, Queen, U2, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Rammstein, Elton John, and Scorpions are or were very successful live performing bands, and none of them are from North America.[1]

The divide is probably electronic vs. rock, because the prevailing attitude in rock is that a real band plays live.[2] Okay, there aren't many continental European bands on my list (Rammstein and Scorpions are German) but that's probably because continental Europe isn't that into rock. (But who knows? There's no shortage of continental metal bands and festivals.)

[1] It seems cheating to count Canadian bands as "not American", otherwise I'd include Rush in the list.

[2] Note that the Beatles were a pop band, not a rock band. There was no money in touring in the 1960's, so of course they quit after they didn't need to generate publicity.

'But, "it's no problem, just give live shows" is a stupid answer. At best, it's a non general enough one.'

Hear, hear. This is a problem I've, of late, being trying to sort out, and would love to hear success stories about musicians or musical outfits that have a viable business without having to tour.

OTOH, I have no problem with selling related product; in fact, I found the idea compelling, especially non-traditional delivery means.

But not so much T-shirts and the standard rock memorabilia. "Art" objects, physical things that are interesting in their own right, whether it be some aspect of CD/DVD/USB/SD packaging or something more out there.

Pomplamoose is a musical act that seems to have attained a level of success primarily through YouTube and commercials (recent holiday Hyundai ad) instead of touring.

Yes, some kind of "art objects" I can see selling (speaking as an electronica artist), but t-shirts and typical rock memorabilia seem too gimmicky, like something a hair metal band would do.

I would also consider artistic/theatrical type shows, like The Residents use to do --things that are not tied to the typical "come to hear a band playing their same ole songs live".

'I would also consider artistic/theatrical type shows, like The Residents use to do --things that are not tied to the typical "come to hear a band playing their same ole songs live".'

I've been contemplating that as well. For ideas on performing don't involve many live musicians, and I'd like to make the overall experience more engaging and memorable, ideally involving the audience in some not-too-gimicky way.

Creating something that people can't help talking and writing about for some time, even after it's well over, could get the buzz of more frequent gigs, but with (I hope) lower overhead.

And yeah, The Residents are a good example in that vein.

I agree. Years go by in between occasions when I go to a concert, yet I listen to (and pay for) recorded music regularly. I might go to more concerts if there were more concerts that interested me around where I live, but even so, for me, music isn't something that I go to hear a one-time performance of; it is integrated into my life. I listen to music while working, reading, driving, whatever, and I'm not likely to have a live band playing a concert next to my desk or in the back seat of my car.