Hip-hop artist Ronnie Euro, who uses the stage name Phat Kat, has seen success in Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Russia.

At 39, he's successfully built a brand and image around his regional identity, representing Detroit in an industry where artists from here are widely accepted and praised for innovation and hard work.

But like many local artists, he hasn't been able to make money on his local fan base. Outside of Detroit, he gets paid a minimum of $3,000 per show, and that number can move toward $10,000 for major music festivals. Inside the city, he doesn't expect to get paid much more than $300-$500 per show.

"Detroit is a great place to work and live," says Euro, "But as far as making money off of your craft ..."

A recent visitor from Manchester, England, Cristian Chesha, noted his surprise when he saw that some of Detroit's most famous techno artists, Carl Craig and Derrick May, were performing together for a small crowd in a pizza parlor. He is used to seeing them sell out large venues back home.

In a city with a rich musical history, it's a situation that hurts local artists trying to develop a sustainable business model.

That's the case for Euro, who has sold 14,000 vinyl copies of his breakout hit, "Dedication to the Suckers," since it was released in 1999.