Grizzly Bear frontman Ed Droste has claimed the US band are "losing money" on their Australian tour, which kicks off tonight in Adelaide, despite attracting "huge crowds".
In a series of now-deleted Instagram story posts, which were captured by BrooklynVegan, Droste revealed that “...despite huge crowds down under we are basically losing money”.
“People always ask: Why aren’t you coming to 'Perth', 'Singapore', 'Quito'... and I’m trying to explain there is no value put on live music anymore,” Droste said.
"We feel it’s important to bring with us the fullest show we can with all live instruments and a good light show. But now, when you cut out record sales and we haven’t had a car commercial in ages, we literally lose money."
It follows on from an interview last year where fellow bandmember Daniel Rossen told The Music that he feels the only way for bands like Grizzly Bear to survive is through licencing.
"I don’t like selling our music for products. I don’t like thinking of our music as a product. That comes up all the time, whether you’re talking about licensing or not," Rossen said.
"It is a little sad that that’s such a reality for so many bands, that it’s one sure way to get a cheque."
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Grizzly Bear are performing headline dates at prestigious venues such as the Sydney Opera House and Brisbane’s QPAC theatre on their Aussie visit as well as making appearances at Golden Plains and A Fest Called Panama.
“So yeah the evolution of the music industry is, in my opinion, destroying bands that play music that are mid-tier or lower,” Droste continued.
“I could go on forever but I won’t. Enjoy it while it lasts. I think we are about to enter a live music drought.”
Tickets to Grizzly Bear’s Australian tour are on sale now; for more information, head to theGuide.
14.03.18
Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), South Brisbane
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