I have a feeling a lot of the recent gigs are pretty self supporting and theres no huge finacial commitment.
your own gig+your own tour=agents,PA,roadies,merchandising,etc etc etc costs more than a festival slot ???
And as Andy has said - its all a bit of fun.
Im sure that comes into it - sabbat are touring,being booked to play -after 18 years of no sabbat im not counting any chickens - im only grateful.
If we get a mean fiddler,koko,rock city as a one off - fucking great! But im more than happy to pay to watch them at the moment, where ever they go,within reason.