There is an exchange -- sometimes more than one -- between artist and audience, and exchanges need to operate according to some of the rules of trade, and also some kind of basic respect. It doesn't really matter the genre; one of the most professional bands of the last thirty-five years was the Ramones. They survived for twenty years without strong album sales because they ruthlessly toured and professionally performed. Johnny Ramone gets a lot of the credit for that: he gave a damn about what the band looked like, how they walked across the stage, how long the set was taking to perform.
For all the bohemian mythos about performers as artists pouring out the innermost secrets of their souls, it’s really just show business. And professionalism is about respect for one’s audience, providing them with the maximum enjoyment by maintaining the illusion that the performer is somehow set apart from the common run of mankind, so that what is seen on stage is really something special.
Joe Strummer echoes these thoughts (3:59 at the link, unless you want to listen to Dee Dee's comments first)
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