Besides a handful popular artists not making as much as they used to during the golden age of MTV and CDs, have things really changed that much for the rest? Music business was always extremely hit driven.
Smaller / medium bands have it rough compared to, say, the 2000s.
Music isn’t just hit-driven. There used to be more house bands, more bands who could make a living from tours, that sort of thing. These days, musicians try to find an audience on Spotify and social media and make money doing performances, selling merch, and going on tour, but the amount of revenue you make from that kind of work is a lot less.
