The Byrds’ David Crosby unveiled his economic problems during a recent interview with Guitar World.
In the conversation, David pointed out that contemporary musicians can only make money from touring and records. However, they do not earn almost anything from streaming. According to Crosby, the record companies make tons of money from the album sales, but they don’t pay the musicians who create them.
Therefore, live music is the only opportunity for most musicians. Furthermore, the legendary frontman stated that he is trying to be grateful because he can still play in the live shows, which can help him to pay the mortgage and take care of his family. Unfortunately, that opportunity was also lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak the last year.
David revealed that he hasn’t earned any money since early 2020 as he couldn’t go on stage. While confessing that he is actually broke now, Crosby also admitted that he’s scared of losing his house. For this reason, David had to sell his publishing rights.
David Crosby reflected on his economic status in the interview:
“We had two ways of making money: touring and records. Streaming doesn’t pay us. It’s like you did your job for a month and they gave you a nickel. You’d be pissed. That’s why we are pissed – because they are making billions and not paying the people who are creating the music.
So I’m trying to be grateful that I can still play live and pay the rent and take care of my family. But along comes Covid and I can’t play live. That was it. Now I’m broke. I don’t want to lose my home, man.
We’ve got an old adobe house here in the middle of a cow pasture. It’s just fucking wonderful. A beautiful, beautiful place in the middle of a bunch of trees. It’s just lovely; it’s not fancy and it’s not rich and it’s not big, but it’s really right. We want to live here all our lives, so I sold my publishing.”
Back in July 2021, David Crosby released his latest and eighth solo studio album, ‘For Free,’ which is a 37-minute-long record featuring a total of ten songs. Also, it peaked at No. 2 on UK Independent Albums charts.
