Is it more profitable to make albums or tour?

Answer 1

With album sales slumping like never before, the only way a previously platinum artist could continue to pay for his 8 cars and villa in The Florida Keys is to get off his or her keister and shake it even harder than they had to before. The onslaught of mp3's and other electronic files have put a chink in the once almighty armor the record companies donned for decades. The record company is always going to get theirs, but the artist more than at any other point can throw some weight of their own. The internet does what record companies did for years, with a battalion of soldiers pushing out material. The artist can now promote themselves more effectively and get the material out to the global community. Touring has always been the meat and potato's for the artist that didn't go triple platinum in their first week. The artist don't charge less for a live performance. To adjust for the cost of living and slumping album sales they charge more.