Sean Brennan wrote:
As for musicians, it really seems that they can earn a living only by live performances nowadays... And by the way, after concerts CDs (together with other merchandise) always sell well.

Wow, where have you been? I've addressed this VERY point literally dozens and dozens of times over the years. Here we go again:
1. Not all artists perform live.
2. Not all artists WANT to be FORCED to perform live in order to earn a living.

ALSO- you're asking the artist to be paid for only ONE aspect of his job- live performance (if indeed that artist performs live), and NOT the creation of the art.

........
You got me wrong. I DO know that you don't like to tour, as well as some other musicians. I don't say that you have to. And I'm not asking or requiring anything. Actually, I'm not talking about MY preferences at all! I only said that in current situation - in reality - it seems impossible for a musician to earn a living unless he/she performs live. And it's not even my personal opinion, but an opinion of some other musicians (they're probably more lucky than Birthday Massacre, since they get decent payments and their expences such as transportation are fully covered by concert organizers).

And if you and I are against this reality, it doesn't seem to change in the nearest future. Sad but true...