Shirley Manson: Garbage Would Have Made "Same Amount" from 10 North American Shows as 40

"We did the maths. I think this is a fascinating statistic: we played about 40 shows in North America, and Billy is such a nerd and did a bunch of equations to realise that we could have earned exactly the same amount from the entire tour if we'd only played 10 shows. That would have been approximately five shows on the East Coast, and five shows on the West [Coast]."

"We have never said that we are stopping playing entirely - despite how some of the media has chosen to report on this. We have made the decision that our touring will be a different model from here on out."

"It's a real state of emergency for musicians of a certain ilk. Of course the pop stars will continue to flourish, and long may that last. We need pop stars, they're fantastic and fun. But the kind of artists that are creating the work that's original, esoteric."

Shirley Manson clarified that Garbage is not retiring but restructuring its touring approach due to unsustainable economics. Analysis revealed the band could earn identical revenue from 10 shows (five on each coast) compared to their 40-show North American tour. The band chose the longer route to farewell communities they cannot afford to revisit. Manson highlighted how touring economics have deteriorated significantly, noting that bands once sustained tours through record sales at venues. She expressed concern about the current industry crisis affecting artists creating original, esoteric work, while mainstream pop stars continue to thrive.

Read at Consequence