Actually, most musicians make their money from concerts and maybe merchandising. "Few musicians ever actually receive royalties from their record sales on major labels", even including name bands like the Backstreet Boys (NYT article reprinted at
Royalties get paid on "profits", and the recording industry is as ingenious as Hollywood in creative accounting practices that ensure there never will be anything labelled a profit. The economics for a hypothetical successful band are described in an entertainment column:
(Sorry, stretch as I may, the only ObTelecom I can think of is "and the recording companies use _telephones_ in plotting their nefarious deeds" :-D )