Miss May I have shed further light on the financial issues faced by metal artists whilst touring, revealing they only made $400.00 after touring with Avenged Sevenfold. The revelation came off the back of a tweet from Tyler Dennen of Sworn In who stated:

oh fun fact, Sworn In Band LLC has grossed well over 2 million dollars in its lifetime and we as members, performers and songwriters saw MAYBE $7,000 each TOTAL from 2012-2018.

Miss May I’s Levi Benton then also revealed a shocking story from the band’s experience on an Avenged Sevenfold summer tour – what should have given the band more financial stability, instead resulted in disappointment for the members who returned home with little reward. In response to Dennen’s tweet about festivals and money, Benton shared this eye-opening account of his own reality:

Yo! Did a whole summer festival tour with A7X and came home with $400 each. I feel this to my core. Starving artist is a real thing.

Many artists have struggled with dwindling profits from their tours, even after large turnouts of passionate fans at shows. Although financial and business structures play a role in this issue, many still find it disheartening that so few earnings remain for the artist as they wrap up each tour leg.

Are there ways to help support these musicians? Could something be done to improve their chances within the modern touring system or is it simply broken?

Weighing in on potential solutions could provide valuable insight into how we can better aid under-supported musical talent as the world of touring goes through its biggest changes to date.

Yo! Did a whole summer festival tour with A7X and came home with $400 each. I feel this to my core. Starving artist is a real thing.

— Levi Benton (@levibenton) January 19, 2023

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