OK, this has been bothering me for quite awhile now, How are any of the bands out there able to make a living? Don't jump on me yet hear me out...

Ok, we have all these bands like Attraction, Shang Hai, Danger Danger, Hair of the Dog(you can basically add any band here), etc... that have released cd's this year. Here in the good ole' USA, they are probably basically ignored as far as the mainstream public is concerned. Some go out on tour and play to about 500-1500 people if they are lucky. Case in point Dokken and Cinderella played here not too long ago to about a 1000+(ten years ago that # would have been 10,000+), tickets were about $20.00 or so. For a gross of about $20,000. Is that good? I don't know. I guess after expenses the band maybe gets a decent cut and if they played to crowds like that every week or night it could add up to a decent profit...

Realistically how many cd's do these bands actually sell, do they make more money going on tour? Because CD sales(at least here in the USA) can't be more than a few thousand each(they get virtually no radio airplay either). I am sure that overseas the sales are much better but here in the USA the market just isn't there. Can someone help me out with this?

So why even bother? Don't get me wrong I can't possibly live imagine living without all the great music that these artists put out. Maybe its for the music, the answer you here so many times and doing something you love, and money is not that important. BUT... I hope all these great bands are able to make a decent living so that they can keep putting out great music, because I can't live without it.

Please post your thoughts and comments... Thanks