By Tim Lambourne
The days of bands making millions of dollars from album sales disappeared when CDs did, so with new material downloaded minutes after it's released, bands have been making their money by touring and selling merchandise at their concerts.
But fans won't stand for being ripped off.
For many...concerts are what music is all about, but as the cost of live music goes up ,the number of fans will often come down.
In the US, massive names such as Rihanna, Christina Aguilera and the Eagles have all cancelled shows after ticket sales dropped by 17 percent.
Auckland promoter Matthew Crawley has already felt the squeeze - he promoted 16 bands in just over a month.
"I expected half would make money and half would lose, but pretty much most of them came out just under cost," he says. "I worked out I needed to sell 30 more tickets per show to cover costs."
It's a cut-throat business with a lot of competition. In the last week, Auckland's already seen Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - $78 - and Florence and the Machine - $100.
Then there are Boston five-piece Passion Pit - they sold out twice, and had to move to a bigger venue.
"Right now we are trying to sustain everything you know," says Jeff Apruzzese. "Being able to get over here is definitely a huge part of it, but if we can keep the ticket prices cheap that's great."
It's not all about ticket prices though - band fatigue also plays a part. In the US the Kings of Leon have toured the same album three times, and not surprisingly, ticket sales have slowed.
One band that hasn't slowed down is Iron Maiden - they're selling out shows like it was 1979, and it's no secret why.
"They deserve not just a great show but they deserve a reasonable ticket price," says singer Bruce Dickinson. "Other people have inflated ticket prices to obscene levels and it's just not right - it's a rock n' roll show, it's not a cash cow."
That may be easy for him to say - their 1982 album The Number of the Beast sold an estimated 14 million copies worldwide.
Although album sales like that and crowds like the one seen at tonight's Passion Pit concert - both critics and fans agree - comes down to a bit of talent as well.
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