The steady decline in the monetary value of the global recorded music market has been plain for all to see over the past decade.

Piracy has helped bully the halcyon days of the £10 CD out the door in the UK, leaving behind a near-bankrupt retail giant (HMV), and making megabucks album marketing budgets largely a thing of the past.

However, performers are now making more money from a combination of touring, brand partnerships, merchandise and synch deals than at ...