> if you enjoy music that features live instruments I just > don't see how it could be free. There's too many people > involved who need to eat.

One model people talk about is where recorded music is free, this boosts popularity, you fund the recordings through more people coming to your live shows. If you do 40 live shows a year, and giving away your music brings in 30 more people at each show paying $20 each, that's $24k: enough for a new album each year.