One of my favorite and most insightful singer-songwriters, James McMurtry, says something funny to the crowd on his live album,
Live in Aught-Three (and I'm paraphrasing here because I don't have it handy): "I used to think I was an artist. Come to find out, I'm a beer salesman."I used to just think that McMurtry was just being his usual droll, cynical self, but I'm realizing lately that he hit the nail on the head. In this day and age, most bands - at least those who can't sell 500,000+ albums, which is nearly all of them now - owe their livelihood to touring, and the only reason most venues can afford to pay the bands is because they sell booze. Have you heard what the markup is on alcohol? It's amazing.So drink up, music fans: Maybe you don't buy CDs anymore, but you can at least buy a round or two when your favorite artist comes to play your local club. Those touring dollars, collected in part from your beer money, will bankroll their next album - at least until they can get a song placed in a Volkswagen commercial.
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