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# As Labels Struggle, Is Artist Income On The Rise?
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/as-record-labels-fall-is-artist-income-on-the-rise/
- Published: 2009-12-01T06:51:00.000Z
- Updated: 2009-12-01T06:51:00.000Z
- Description: (UPDATED)Yesterday, I published a chart from the the Times UK showing that while record labels are suffering, artists were making more money than ever from live performance. (see chart) Some. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/12/as-record-labels-fall-is-artist-income-on-the-ris
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Live & Ticketing, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:03

(UPDATED)Yesterday, I [published a chart](https://www.hypebot.com/as-music-industry-struggles-artist-income-grows/) from the the Times UK showing that while record labels are suffering, artists were making more money than ever from live performance. ([see chart](https://www.hypebot.com/as-music-industry-struggles-artist-income-grows/)) Some Hypebot rea[![image from images.google.com](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2012875f6b160970c-300wi)](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2012875f6b160970c-pi?ref=hypebot.com)ders, as well as, Glenn Peoples from [Billboard countered](http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content%5Fdisplay/industry/e3i7a35e791d5c3a260e3d32829e467a033?ref=hypebot.com) that the chart's "interpretation ignores the realities of superstar-driven ticket prices…Live music is a winner-take-all market. The value is concentrated at the top. Once an artist becomes a huge success on the road, he/she can command ticket prices well above the rates charged by sub-superstar artists. In the middle of the pack, ticket prices do not have the same flexibility."

**Same as it ever was?**

They are right of course, but only to a point. Are live earnings really any different than the rest of the industry? Isn't the same earnings concentration at the top also true in the recording industry – a few artists get rich while most don't see a dime.

The new music industry is not reflected in either the Times chart or any chart published in Glenn's Billboard. Most of it happens beyond the reach of Nielson and Ticketmaster.

I see mid-level artist income growing – perhaps not dramatically, but significantly. The growth is coming from increased direct to fan sales with fewer middlemen taking a piece of the pie. In many cases, the pie may be smaller than it was, but the artist is retaining more.

For a growing group of mid-level artists, increased income also extends to their live performances. The additional income comes not from higher ticket prices, but rather from their ability to perform over a wider region or even globally without the help of expensive and unreliable label promotion machines or radio airplay.

It's a brave new world out there and and it may have been misleading to [publish that chart](https://www.hypebot.com/as-music-industry-struggles-artist-income-grows/) yesterday. No one has created a chart to measure the growth I'm seeing. But that doesn't mean its not there.

**More:**   

- **[As Music Industry Struggles, Artist Income Grows](https://www.hypebot.com/as-music-industry-struggles-artist-income-grows/)**
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