Why can't indie artists make a decent living at their craft?
They can, they're just not going to do it selling music cds/tapes/records anymore. They're going to have to do it the old fashioned way, at live shows.
Most people seem to forget that the phonograph is a fairly new invention. It's just a blip on the radar in the lifespan of music. For thousands of years musicians made money playing live. The decent ones could use it to supplement their income, the great ones could make a living off it.
There's plenty of indie artists out there that are making a decent living despite not getting any airplay or huge record sales (Decemberists, Wilco). Are they bajillianaires? No. The days of recording a song and then being able to live off that nights labor for the rest of your life are over (Beatles) and I for one am not sad to see them go. Musicians should be out there constantly perfecting their craft, not resting on their laurels.
An Ada exception is when a routine gets in trouble and says 'Beam me up, Scotty'.