If you are in London this week to see a Taylor Swift concert or three, good for you. That must have been very expensive, but let's hope you get your money's worth. Going to see Swift in a different country should start to give you some kind of tax deduction. It's a lot of cash.
Of course, music artists make a lot of money from touring, if the tour is managed correctly. Album sales are great, too, of course, but that might depend of the contract with the record company. Once an artist hits the road, especially an established artist, they are the ones in control.
This could be one reason that a lot of artists tour so much. Swift's Eras tour has been going on for quite some time, but she wasn't always on the road before that. The Rolling Stones likely never have to make another record or play another concert for them to have more money than they will ever need to live comfortably.
Pete Townshend doesn't understand why Taylor Swift keeps going
Perhaps, Mick Jagger and his crew keep playing gigs because they love to do so. They are also really good at that.
One iconic guitarist who doesn't understand that life is Pete Townshend. He is excellent live - who would ever forget his windmill guitar style when he first started playing gigs with the Who? He not only was a brilliant musician, but he turned great-sounding records into live brilliance.
Still, Townshend simply doesn't like to tour much. In a recent interview with Record Collector, Townshend talked about how others enjoy hitting the road much more than he does. He was not judging. He was being honest.
Townshend said, "Why does being a rock star have to be so (expletive) hard? Why does Taylor Swift have to work so (expletive) hard? Why does Bob Dylan have to be on the road 365 days a year? Why do the Rolling Stones have to go out when they’re all in their (expletive) 80s? What is it that drives them to do this? I’m just not in that gang. I don’t hate being onstage – I’m quite good at it – but obviously, I don’t get it from where Taylor Swift gets it."
One might wish the Who were going to tour again, of course, but Townshend seems to end quickly any talk of future gigs occurring. Townshend is 79 years old and Roger Daltrey is 80. The likelihood of more concerts forthcoming is almost nil.