In the jewish world, the way you make money is the Simcha Circuit.
Avraham Fried does not make his money off CD’s or Benefit Concerts (Someone who makes money from music told me most of the time he is asked to do them for FREE) , he makes his money by doing the Simcha Circuit. I heard he gets about $10,000 per gig.
I am sure Lipa Schmeltzer gets most of his income from the same thing
(How Often do you see Avrham Friend of Lipa Schmeltzer do a FOR-PROFIT concert)
I also happen to know about the CD business, It costs about $2-$3 to produce a CD (Including studio time) for a $10 CD, thats $7 profit
If he sold 10,000 CD’s (Only really big acts sell 10,000 CD’s) he would make $70,0000
Unfortunatly if you are a Frum female, the Simcha Circuit avenue is closed to you