Economists and sociologists of music have long argued that the live music sector must lose out in the competition for leisure expenditure with the ever increasing variety of mediated musical goods and experiences. In the last decade, though, there is evidence that live music in the UK is one of the most buoyant parts of the music economy. The author explains in what way live music remains an essential part of the commercial strategies in the music industry. He then speculates about the social functions of performance by examining three examples of performance as entertainment: karaoke, tribute bands and the Pop Idol phenomenon. These are, he suggests, examples of secondary performance, which illuminate the social role of the musical performer in contemporary society.