This Artist Has 5 No. 1 Songs, Doesn’t Make Much Money at Shows

The way the music industry operates, artists makes a large portion of their money from touring and playing live shows.

Well, except Russell Dickerson.

The “Blue Tacoma” singer was a recent guest on Taste of Country Nights, where he humbly admitted that he makes little to no money from playing live shows. Part of the reason for that falls on the now-defunct country duo Florida Georgia Line.

We’ll explain.

Dickerson came up as a songwriter at the same time that Florida Georgia Line broke out with major success with their hit song “Cruise,” which they followed with a long list of other chart-topping songs.

Dickerson was — he still is — great friends with both members of the duo, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. He says that seeing them rise to popularity so quickly inspired him to follow their exact path when it came to touring.

“Spend the money on the production, spend the money on the buses,” the singer-songwriter says, explaining how he invested in his live concerts. “Don’t skimp on lights, don’t skimp on having CO2 — give them the best show. This is your career.”

FGL did tours this way — big, loud and impressive, with all of the smoke and bells and whistles — and Dickerson was inspired to follow suit.

“I’ve always remembered that, and I’ve always been way over budget. I really don’t make that much touring,” he admits.

But even though he’s spendy, Dickerson often sells out the venues he plays in, so how is it possible that he’s not raking in the cash from his concerts?

“We got two buses, we got a semi-truck, we got max lighting, we got video walls,” he starts. “We’re sending it every night, and I’d much rather do that and put on the best show in country music than save money and walk away with a great check at the end of the year.”

The “Yours” hitmaker is about the fans first, now and forever. If you get a chance to see him live, don’t pass it up — it’ll be money well spent.