For years, bands would embark on loss-making tours around the world in an attempt to drum up sales for their latest album, but now the practice has been turned on its head, with groups more likely to give their records away in order to sell tickets to their shows.

The data, [...]]]> According to The Times:

For years, bands would embark on loss-making tours around the world in an attempt to drum up sales for their latest album, but now the practice has been turned on its head, with groups more likely to give their records away in order to sell tickets to their shows.

The data, compiled by PRS for Music, the official body that collects and distributes royalties for British songwriters and music publishers, shows that live music generated £1.28 billion in 2008, compared with £1.24 billion yielded by the recorded music business.

It had to happen eventually… disintermediation, online sales, and a general distaste of fakeness meant record company power was fading. It’s the fakeness aspect that I hope to tap into at FeelItLive.com, by offering media and news from a wide range of sources.