The price of recording has fallen dramatically in recent years as the tools have become available to the masses. Publishing is also cheaper if you just put your album up on Bandcamp rather than getting it pressed.

It might be true if you’re playing to a thousand people a night, and have an audience of 18-25 year olds who won’t spend money on recorded music. But something like the underground prog scene when people still buy CDs but don’t get to gigs in sufficient numbers, some bands can afford to make albums, but it’s not economically viable for them to play live.

Some musicians are keen to preserve the mystique and prestige of the rock ‘n’ roll myth, but that’s a kind of insecurity. The reality is that this is not the 70s, and life as a professional musician would be an unnecessary struggle for most who still want to make music others enjoy.