Performance royalties are a dying income stream. The system was designed for a time when radio was king and playlists were tightly managed. For royalties to be worthwhile, you either need a runaway hit that gets lots of spins (Adele, for example), or a deeply respected back catalog (Dylan, Led Zeppelin) that gets lots of spins.

I think a lot of artists are simply not being honest with themselves. The reason they're not selling is because they're not working to build an audience that cares about what they do. It's easier to be angry about thieves than do the REALLY hard work to build an audience.

Forget royalties and get your 5000 fans first.