Last month Motley Crue announced plans for a 72-show final tour in North America with overseas dates to follow in 2015. But the rock veterans will not be hitting the road with any new songs with Nikki Sixx casting doubt on the worth of any band in their position making an album in todays climate, citing the difficulty of getting radio play as the main barrier preventing bands reaching an audience.
Nikki Sixx tells Classic Rock in an interview printed in full next issue, “We’ve written some songs. But this is difficult to say and probably harder to hear: when you spend nine months working on an album, all the work that goes into it and recording it, mixing it, mastering it, then you release it and it falls on deaf ears. Radio is so fuckin’ formatted, if you don’t have a banjo and a beard they’re not playing you over here. If you’re this kind of band at this stage of your career you can’t be played on Active Rock; if you’ve been around for more than fifteen years you’re classic rock, but classic rock radio doesn’t play new music. You just think, “Fuck, man, this sucks. I have the belief that I would rather have less music reach more people through different opportunities, whether it be through movies, through sponsorships or co-sponsorships through integrated marketing with other types of companies that want to use your song specifically to reach tens of millions of people. I’d rather work on two songs under that plan than do eleven songs that only reach 100,000 people.”
Mick Mars echoed Sixx’s sentiments to Artisan News stating, “I don’t know … maybe I’m retarded or something, but I like to put a lot of effort into this last, farewell tour…”
Watch Artisan News‘ interview with Mick Mars and Tommy Lee below.
source: classicrockmagazine.com
34 Responses
just make music because you love music fuck the industry people – if Nikki could ask this issue of himself 20 years ago young Nikki would just say fucking do the album punk rock styles , no marketing and just drop an album with no promo and let fans go and search and find it – as a cool thing. Beyonce did it with no announcement. Youve made your money now, you got your mansions and ferraris so just get in a room knock out some sleazy tunes ( with out DJ ALba or whatever that lil cunts name is) and put it out for fans of Motley Crue.
Also since the death of MTV not playing videos anymore, bands don’t really have an outlet anymore to promote themselves. These days its mostly based on playing live and word of mouth. Its no wonder they have to charge high prices for shows and t shirts .
I agree with much of the above. Now more than ever (probably going back a good 20 years), established artists have a limited ability to have their new music played on radio for any amount of time. Sure, they’ll play the 1st single for a week (if you’re lucky), but then they’ll pull the plug and go back to the same old restricted playlists. Having no video or radio exposure hardly encourages an established band to put in much work in the studio, knowing they could tour, where the real money is to be made these days. It’s a shame for fans like myself of new music, by aging artists, but that’s just the way it is.
Pretty sad situation overall. If established bands with loyal fanbases are deciding it isn’t worth it to make albums anymore, what incentive is there for younger bands trying to break out? People like Beyonce and One Direction can do it unannounced because they’re in the big pop marketing machine. It really does seem like rock is dead to the big players commercially. I’m not saying it really is dead, of course it isn’t, but you’re far more likely to get the big push if you’re a rapper or pop singer or one of these new folkish Mumford and Sons style groups. How much of a living can you really make selling 100,000 copies of an album (I think that’s considered decent by today’s standards for a non-megastar) and touring clubs for 9 months after all the expenses are paid?
Today’s younger generation does not care too much about music. They would rather hear only 3 songs from an artist and that’s it! Sometimes I can agree. With that said, Eddie I rely to hear the music that I love on your show on XM. That Vain song you played sounds like it was released in ’89! Thanks for what you do Eddie, we need you but I want to know who is the next Eddie Van Trunk!