How does one live of their art or craft? Does someone have to whore themselves out to get fans and pay the bills? Kevin Telly has a very interesting take on the topic, according to him, you can have a limited number of ery dedicated fans and make a living from that.
You can read about it in his article.
From what I know of indie game development and of some recording artists, there is space for niche products and some users will go far out to get everything published in these niche. Like Cliffski’s Positech games (of Rockstar and Democracy fame) or folk goth singer Voltaire. It might not make them rich superstars but they make a living doing something they enjoy, who can ask for more?
More about the 1,000 true fans on Lines and Colors.
