Here is a list of Billboards biggest music moneymakers.
Celine Dion wasn't on tour but she did have a year long residency in Las Vegas. But with the exception of Adele, everybody else made their money from touring.
Think about this for a moment.
Adele sold nearly 8 million albums and CAME IN TENTH!!!
Bon Jovi wasn't selling albums. Neither were U2. Other people mashed em up but it is touring that's fueling the finance. Well, do the math: it costs just about nothing to get the music, and a c note for a tix to the concert. And concert tix are not fueled by sales all the time. U2, and Bon Jovi for the two most obvious examples haven't charted strong in years.
What does this mean for the next generation? This next tour will probably be the Stones last, and at some point everybody will be hanging it up. So then what?
Any way, everything leads us to facing a new way of doing business or the collapse of some aspects of the music business. New albums will just be calling cards for tours.