Robb Flynn: “I Love The New Music Business”
We must sound like a broken record by now, whatwith how many times we’ve said we love Machine Head frontman/guitarist Robb Flynn’s stance on Spotify, streaming in general, politics, puppies, babies… pretty much everything. I’ve seen some comments along the lines of “Stop licking Robb Flynn’s balls, MS!” Well, news flash: Robb’s balls are tasty. As soon as they get bitter we’ll stop.
More to the point: IT’S JUST SO FUCKING REFRESHING TO SEE AN ESTABLISHED ARTIST WHO ISN’T COMPLAINING ABOUT THE NEW MUSIC INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE! While plenty of his peers are waxing ecstatic about the days of yore when making a living as a musician was allegedly easier, Robb’s out there detailing his not-so-robust personal finances and praising the very mechanism that potentially makes that situation even worse. That’s honesty.
Look, let’s not kid ourselves, Robb and Machine Head have very much benefited from privilege, and I’m 100% certain he’d acknowledge that as well. Years of being on one of the biggest metal labels in the world in a time when the music industry was way more flush with cash than it is now have afforded his band the opportunity to experience continued success. While Machine Head are just fine in the new paradigm, it may (or may not) be a different ballgame for today’s young bands.
But that doesn’t change the fact that saying “The new music business rules!” when almost all of his peers are saying otherwise — not to mention labels, managers, agents, etc — is a bold move. Here’s the quote, via an interview with Loudwire:
That’s the most amazing thing to me, a lot of the older guys, they tend to miss the Golden Age or whatever you want to call it, of the music business. I love the way things are now. I love the new music business. I love that you can just put a song up on Spotify and YouTube and iTunes and Apple Music. Everybody can hear it, everybody can talk crap on the Internet and say it’s the best thing we’ve ever done or the worst thing we’ve ever done. To me, that’s amazing.
Now, back to our daily regimen of ball-licking.
