Artists 'must play live to earn a living'

Musicians must be prepared to ply their trade on stage if they wish to earn a living.

This is the view of Gary Bongiovanni, the editor of concert trade publication Pollstar, who said the live circuit is where most of an artist's income is generated.

Speaking to Forbes, he commented: "In today's world, they can't just sit at home and collect their royalties and expect to make their mortgage payments."

However, Bongiovanni warned that bands and solo artists may damage themselves by oversaturating the market.

He stated that the same acts often tour year after year, even if they do not have a new album to promote.

Bongiovanni said this could lead to ticket sales declining and the price of tickets being reduced.

He was speaking after U2, whose hits include One, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Vertigo, were named the highest earning band in the world this year by Forbes.

This is despite the fact an injury to frontman Bono forced them to pull of several lucrative and high-profile gigs, such as headlining the Glastonbury Festival.

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