Are illegal downloads good for music fans?

I was sitting on my laptop this morning whilst looking through the latest gig listings and I've noticed more and more often this year bands are adding extra dates to their tour schedules. It happened with Oasis, Take That and Snow Patrol to name a few. Whilst both Oasis and Take that have sold record amounts there are still tickets available. Could it be that bands cannot solely on record sales to pay for their retirement. Either way it can only be a good thing for your average gig goer