{"id":639282,"date":"2026-05-12T21:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/639282\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T21:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:23:07","slug":"fit-for-a-kings-bassist-calls-out-rich-guy-misha-mansoor-periphery-for-saying-theres-not-enough-money-going-around-to-keep-most-bands-touring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/639282\/","title":{"rendered":"Fit For A King’s Bassist Calls Out “Rich Guy” Misha Mansoor (Periphery) For Saying There’s Not Enough Money Going Around To Keep Most Bands Touring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor has stirred up a bit of a hornets nest with his recent commentary on the financial realties of being in a small to mid-tier band in 2026 as he sees it. Mansoor has long been vocal about the financial struggles artists face in the music industry, with his 2018 commentary<\/a> finding him describing Periphery more as a \u2018passion project\u2019, than a primary income provider. At that time, Mansoor said that Periphery do alright, but \u201cmake no money\u201d and encouraged aspiring artists to have side hustles.<\/p>\n

Mansoor has practiced what he preaches, not only do Periphery run their own label venture 3DOT Recordings, Mansoor has also co-founded GetGood Drums, Horizon Devices and a merchandise company over the years. <\/p>\n

Appearing on a newly shared episode of the Nick Nocturnal Podcast<\/a>, Mansoor was asked about how he sees the financial landscape for bands in the modern age and if his past assessment still holds up. Mansoor replied[transcribed by theprp.com]:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s probably more relevant than ever. People always got the wrong message from what I was saying \u2018cuz \u2019cause like I did this interview with Rick Beato, and that was my point was like, \u2018Hey you\u2019re going to need side hustles.\u2019 You\u2019re going to need income streams and those take a while\u2026 Those take a while to build and to bear fruit, if they\u2019re going to bear any at all. So start early.<\/p>\n

Like this is stuff that we did from the beginning, and any band would benefit from knowing this information from the beginning, rather than believing like, \u2018Ah man if you just believe it hard enough, like you just have to want it more than the next guy, you\u2019re going to make it. The music will be enough.\u2019<\/p>\n

Being just a musician is just not enough for most people to make. If it is, it\u2019s great. But like my advice with that was it\u2019s still the same. Like people always took away from it, \u2018Oh, Misha\u2018s complaining he doesn\u2019t make money with Periphery.\u2019 It\u2019s like, no, I don\u2019t care that I don\u2019t make money with Periphery, because I use it as the nucleus for all my other stuff that does make me money so that I can have a life.<\/p>\n

And I did this because I started these things very, very early on. And if I hadn\u2019t done that, I probably would have quit the band by now, because I wouldn\u2019t have been able to afford to continue being in a band. I think nowadays, dude, I don\u2019t know how bands who rely just on the band are going to survive the next few years. And here\u2019s why: Maybe you know this from touring, but the costs of everything have like doubled to tripled. The cost of everything.<\/p>\n

And the I mean like the cost of a bus has doubled, right? [The rise of fuel prices] is just recent. This was this was like post-pandemic [that] the cost of buses have doubled and a lot of crew quit. So you know, the people that stayed, there\u2019s less of them, supply and demand, they charge more.<\/p>\n

The people \u2014 your crew \u2014 their cost of living has gone up. So they need more to justify going out on the road. Everything has gone up. So what\u2019s interesting is you\u2019ll see \u2014 and we\u2019ve seen this too \u2014 our guarantees have gone up. Our guarantees continue to go up, up and up, great. But they don\u2019t get as much mileage as you would think, because the cost of everything is so much higher.<\/p>\n

So like then what you have is as a headliner, you know \u2014 we\u2019re going to get into some inside baseball here for some of the fans, right? So you understand what\u2019s going on. So basically, generally the way it works is the headliner gets some amount of money that\u2019s agreed upon from the promoter and then they put together a package and they have to pay out of that money, you know, your support and whatever right?<\/p>\n

Well the support bands now want\/need so much, like a lot more than they\u2019re worth, at least relative to the market. And when I say worth, I mean there\u2019s data points. You could see their numbers on the tours. You could see where they draw, like this isn\u2019t emotional, this is pure data. And our manager is very, very data-driven. So like this is all this is all very factual.<\/p>\n

But they want more than they\u2019re worth. But the reason they want it is because their tour is insolvent if they don\u2019t make this amount, because they have to pay their cost too. So I\u2019m not holding it against them at all. I\u2019m just saying like this is just the reality of it.<\/p>\n

So now on all ends there\u2019s just not enough money to go around, and basically as anyone who\u2019s in a band knows, you\u2019re the last one to get paid. Your crew gets paid. Your manager, your business manager, your booking agent, they all get paid. You\u2019re going\u2026 if your business manager is smart, he\u2019ll do a 40% tax hold back on whatever money that you get after it\u2019s split five, six ways \u2014 whatever it is. So like what\u2019s left over for the band is usually little to nothing. and everyone else will get paid \u2014 and they should get paid, because they\u2019re working very hard.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s very little to go around. So, I don\u2019t really know how bands are going to survive this without something changing. And I don\u2019t really know what that is. I think the the next few years are going to be pretty tough for a lot of bands that don\u2019t have side hustles or ways to, you know, ancillary income, to help justify the the little to no money they\u2019ll make on tour.<\/p>\n

Nocturnal went on to point out the financial hardships of the music industry and how they can take a toll on the creative output and longevity of musicians. He also outlined the various ways artists have been setting out to supplement their income with lessons, tab books, Patreon, etc., Mansoor replied:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s that\u2019s exactly what they should be doing. And that\u2019s what I was trying to say all along. Just like, \u2018Hey, your band\u2019s not going to make any money. Do the other stuff.\u2019 And who knows where it may lead. Yeah, maybe at first it\u2019s just lessons. Maybe at first it\u2019s just this. Maybe at first it\u2019s just YouTube. Who knows where that leads? Now you\u2019re opening a door to other possibilities. But you know what? What won\u2019t help is just sitting there and be like, \u2018Well, I hope that like the band makes enough to survive.\u2019<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s just like even if it did 5 years ago, it doesn\u2019t anymore. Because you are earning maybe 10 to 20% more and the cost of everything are doubled. And there is no business model that would survive that.<\/p>\n

Any business model, if your cost of goods and services goes up 10 to 15%, you\u2019re in a lot of trouble, right? For most businesses. Because the margins are usually not that crazy, right? Imagine that you\u2019re running a business and your cost of goods and services double.<\/p>\n

Like that just ruins most businesses. That makes them insolvent, you know? So what what is the answer to that? The answer is like you have to do other stuff whether you like it or not, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mansoor\u2018s opinions mentioned above didn\u2019t sit well with Ryan \u201cTuck\u201d O\u2019Leary, bassist\/vocalist for Christian metalcore band Fit For A King. Tuck took to social media yesterday, May 11th, to say the following about Mansoor\u2019s commentary:<\/p>\n

\u201cRich guy in a band said you need a side hustle because he doesn\u2019t understand how budgets work. @NikNocturnal talk to someone that\u2019s not a fucking idiot and actually makes a living touring. This rhetoric is unhealthy for young musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuck\u2018s comment also led to the following related exchange with a fan:<\/p>\n

Bands are also charging double for shirts and are getting paid a lot more. I would fully disagree with you on the can\u2019t play 500 caps and survive. Doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re \u201croughing\u201d it in a van either.<\/p>\n

\u2014 BigAssTuck (@TuckFFAK) May 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

Tuck himself has ventured outside of the band career wise, serving at the management firm Beacon Management and also co-founding the label Papercut Recordings<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Rich guy in a band said you need a side hustle because he doesn\u2019t understand how budgets work. @NikNocturnal<\/a> talk to someone that\u2019s not a fucking idiot and actually makes a living touring. This rhetoric is unhealthy for young musicians.<\/p>\n

\u2014 BigAssTuck (@TuckFFAK) May 11, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n