I think they don’t get just how many people work behind the scenes. They don’t factor in when they buy their tickets that they are going towards paying for the truck drivers, the sound guy, the rigger, all the equipment that has to hired. It is a massive industry. They think their £25 or £100 is going straight into the pockets of the acts, but that is patently not the case. There are hundreds of jobs reliant on one artist touring. It’s like going into the supermarket and complaining about the price of milk. There is an industry behind it.
When a (mid-sized) band is touring today, they can have 15 or 20 people on the road with them. At per diems of €100 a day, that can cost €28,000 a week. It soon adds up. And the band might have days off in that week (so are not playing shows to make money). All the sound and lighting suppliers have to constantly renew their stock so they have the latest equipment available for acts. That can cost millions of pounds and that cost is passed along to their clients – ie the touring acts.