Go Buy Some Music You Deadbeat Streamers!

Streaming is the door to new music to discover that I could not possibly afford to do if I was limited to buying new records or CDs.
Yes that's the way it always used to be done and how many of us ended up with an album that sucked apart from one track! I know I can't be on my own.
It's a brave new world out there with a lot of things gone but that's called progress.
We don't all want to drive that Ford Pinto too do we?

As noted, today you have to release an album to promote your tour, that is how artists make money. I feel like that has narrowed the artist choices available to us, and also has narrowed the complexity of the music available to us, certainly for more "popular" music.

I think growing up, all the local bands that sort of defined our lives, could release an album and sell enough to put food on their tables and a roof over their head, and keep crafting new music. Maybe they only released 2 or 3 albums, but often those albums hold a special spot for us, and we would go see them on the local tour that was not overly expensive. My "kids" would have a hard time identifying more than a 1 or 2 local artists who have not reached some level of international recognition.

One of the reasons a lot of the later Beatle's music is interesting is they decided to stop touring, and concentrated on creating music unconstrained by the limits of an eventual live performance. That is not possible today, though today, it would probably be acceptable  to play mix a live performance mixed with recorded material, but personally I don't really see the point, especially at the cost of a concert today.

I do stream as well as buy new and used CD and Vinyl.

I did go to a lot of concerts but Covid has killed that.

I actually had two tickets to see Elton John in August at $800 a pop.
How was that for supporting the old boy!
Alas all cancelled and just got the $1600+refund from Ticketmaster to my credit card this morning.

Shame really as would have been a great show I'm sure.

Streaming should be a great thing for musicians.  It's the most efficient way for them to get their music out to the public. Listeners can try all kinds of new music without having to buy a CD or LP that you may not even want to listen to all the way through once.

What I have read is that the streaming services aren't making big money either.  It's the record companies that are keeping it all.  The artists have to get together and find a way to cut a better deal with the record companies, or maybe find a way to go around them and deal with the streamers directly.  With the availability of relatively cheap recording equipment, maybe they could do that.  They have to figure something out, though.