Touring and making a living as a musician are "almost impossible," says Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén

Since the rise of the internet and the fall of the recording industry, the only way for artists to make ends meet is to perform live and sell merchandise.

Even though the advent of streaming has helped the industry a lot, vastly improving the situation from the mid-2000s when downloading was a big deal, most bands have relied solely on gigs and merchandise sales for live. And if you’re an average band these days, it’s even harder than before with inflation and the commissions that venues charge these days, as we’ve reported over the past few months.

Many musicians have expressed their dismay at the situation since the return of live music after the pandemic, and a new one joins the list.

Dennis Lyxzén, lead singer of Refused and Noise Conspiracy, was recently interviewed by The New Scene (the full conversation is available below), and at one point the musician offered his thoughts on the current state. of the tour circuit.

When asked if he thinks it’s easier to be in a band today than in the 90s, he replies: “I don’t mind this job, but I think the short answer is ‘no’. The long answer is way more complicated than that, because I think touring [et le fait d’être] musician have never been so difficult. Which is problematic because in the years to come I think a lot of bands are going to stop touring because it’s almost impossible to make a living playing music.”

“In the 90s and early 2000s, you could sell records and get royalty checks from time to time and be like, ‘Oh shit, we really sell records. Noise Conspiracy wasn’t a big band, but we were selling 60,000 to 70,000 CDs… Imagine doing that today…”

“So I would say that certain aspects are better today, like the modes of communication, the way you can sell records on tour, etc. But a lot of things are just more difficult than before… It’s much harder for bands to tour these days than ever before.”

Refused released their latest album, War Music, in 2019.