Brilliant article recently from Kevin Kelly about the long tail, distribution models, and how to survive off your creative endeavors. To put it shorty, you need 1000 true fans to live, but you don’t need a blockbuster, a best-seller, or a platinum hit.
The whole article is worth a read, but I’ll add this thought:
For a solo artist, the first 10 true fans are built in, they’re your family & close friends. So, just be announcing that you’re going to start, you’re 1% of the way there. It’s the other 99% that requires touring, playing, networking, and cultivating a fan base.