Next time one thinks seats to a concert tour show are too much, consider what the costs of touring are. Groups practically go broke taking their show on the highway, which is something that must give one pause next time they think about illegally downloading songs.

Difficult to live as a rock band

Most bands or artists do not have enough cash to pay for a tour. You imagine a tour for a musician to have a lot of cash with a ton of partying and tour busses. Unfortunately, that is not the case for all.

It is quite fascinating whenever you consider what The Dresden Dolls, a Boston group, made on their tour, according to a 2007 NPR interview. The two in the group, Brian Viglione and Amanda Palmer, only made $1,500 a month from the tour each. That is not a lot of cash for spending time in a record deal and touring. They even opened from some pretty large gigs.

They will only be getting $18,000 a year, which is not a lot and only really takes place if they tour year round.

Granted, they also had earnings from CD sales -- royalties of $1 per CD sold -- and merchandise.

Gets better for a lot of people

Oh, Sleeper is a band that is considered "mid-level" since it has been around for a few years and has a following. Band member Shane Blay posted typical expenses associated with touring. He said that bands make cash based on the amount of merchandise sold and the number of fans who arrive. The groups have to pay the location for using the facility too. His band made about $600 per night for the venues on average due to $300 in merchandise sales and $300 in location profits.

Groups pay to print shirts. He reported $7.50 per shirt, which they sell typically at $15 per, meaning its half the price. So of that $300, $150 is already gone. Venues generally charge a 25 percent commission, $75, and the band's manager gets a 15 percent cut of the profits, or $11.25, meaning the band makes $63.75 from $300 in merchandise sales. From guaranties go, 15 percent off the top goes to the band's manager and 10 percent goes to their booking agent, who arranges tour dates. That leaves $225 per night, before paying travel expenditures, which he quotes around $150 just in gas between gigs, leaving $75. Then, after a $10 per day food budget for all five band members plus their merchandise seller, $60, which leaves $15. In total, that's $78.75 per night.

Then there are extra emergency costs not calculated out. Without the emergencies, each band member will get $13.12 a night to play, which is not a lot of cash.

Stars get extra cash

It's only the greatest acts for whom the costs of touring are worth it, as a tour may sell enough tickets to be profitable. For instance, according to the Daily Mail, when Roger Waters did a tour of "The Wall," the classic album by his previous group Pink Floyd, in 2010, the production, which is fantastically elaborate for those who haven't seen it, price $60 million to take on tour. The tour grossed nearly $90 million, according to Music Television.

Being an artist means you will struggle a lot. According to NBC News, the 2008 gasoline price increases made it so most groups had to cancel tours since they could not pay the extra cost for fuel.

When you download music for free, the band ends up losing money there too.