[WalterBright]

I'm surprised they can even reach $800/mo.

But there are multiple other avenues for revenue. One can sell merchandise, such as the ever-popular band t-shirt. And there are still many who will want to buy an official cassette rather than just download a song. There are also paid gigs - a live performance is not replaceable with a download. One can livestream a performance, and get paid for the ad placements.

[onlytime]

All of these are uniquely worse than the current system for the artists, though. Again, I agree that copyright should be abolished (or that copyleft should be enshrined in law), entirely, for all forms of media (including software). I just think it's important to realize that there are classes of people for whom the existing circumstances are better for. Acknowledging that a change will disadvantage or make circumstances materially worse for people is important.

Livestreaming and live performances and merch creation are all vastly different skillsets than making music in your bedroom, and some musicians are only really good at that part.