Producer Ross Robinson: “…Be A Thief And Do Something Wonderful”
Following up his recent controversial comments on the music industry; producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn) has once again taken to Twitter to further express his viewpoint. His latest tweet reads as follows:
“A hungry musician must fear nothing. it’s important Not to support music to keep them strong inside. Be a thief and do something wonderful”
COMMENTS
Having musicians focus on the song and not the payoff. Maybe the right ideas are starting to bleed into the system.
Not that I can really justify stealing music; but dude also needs to realize that a lot of these bands solely get people in seats at venues based on unpaid downloads, which allows the band to eventually get back into the studio so he can work.
But, on the flip side of that, he also gets no royalty cheque on a concert ticket sale, so I can understand why he’s taking to sarcastic tweeting.
I think it really does suck that the music industry is where it is, I’ll admit that I “steal” my music, but I also agree that artists should get paid. Being a musician is a “job” and it’s true, and to all that say “being a musician isn’t about the money it’s about the music” shut the fuck up because they do for the music, but you have to be paid. Metal elitists can be the biggest hypocrites in the world, some worship the most obscure metal bands but would criticize a band for making their music more “accessible” and this goes to that mentality “if you want something to be done right you do it yourself” I hate people who think their better than other metal head because they listen to Napalm Death, Obituary (perfectly good bands) and would diss someone who likes Metallica. When really you don’t use other peoples music to express your individuality or “elitism” because it’s not your music. That was more of an endless tirade than a point but I just had to get that out there.
musical integrity. some musicians have it, others don’t. if a musician talented enough compromises his musical integrity just to make something more accessible, or sell out, whats wrong with him/her trying to make a buck? if you have the talent musically, why knock them?
because they write music for other people than themselves (fans/labels/critics/$)
these bands are known as businesses. everyone’s talking about new business models and shit but real music should be played by the artist for themselves, and no one else. that way you never “sell out.”
those are few and far between at this point. we are no longer in the 1950′s/60′s where less people per capita were trying to make a career out of music. everyone is in bands now, and everyone plays something. kids are getting signed playing jager tours and are not old enough to drink.
music not only should be free, it is. adapt, evolve, or falter.
I coud’nt agree with with you more, thee is a difference when a band writes something for the label other than themselves but I just want to use a few examples. The Black Album, You could call it selling out but I think it’s just a new era of Metallica, Lars said he wanted Metallica to be a band that did more than just speed metal, and I did agree with him at one point ” Man if we made And Justice for all 2! That woud’ve been the sell out” I agree with that statement so much! When a band gets really famous they tend to feed their fans the same thing, over, over, and over again. The Black album was a great album, great musician ship, dealt with the same topics Metallica normally talks about , just wasn’t heavy enough, now some people would debate Metallicas musical integrity with Lulu, but I woudn’t call Lulu a “sell out” it was just a weird project Metallica chose to be a part of. To shift viewpoints lets look at Operh with their new album, Their first to reach top 10!billboard 200 (I think) and I think it’s because the whole album was all clean vocals, you can tell Opeth tried to reach a wider audience but they kept the progressive sound the made them Opeth, I don’t think in that case it was a problem that they wanted to make more bucks with their music, just because they wanted to make their music more accessible doesn’t mean their cutting back on what makes them a musician, an other example would be Morbid Angels new album , but their getting old and trying to get a different audience I still thought it was a quality album.
I agree with both veil and Fred. Al Jourgensen did the same thing, but he did it first, made his money, and then made the music he wanted to make instead of struggling with elitist music for many years and then selling out. He sold out in the beginning, took the record companies money and then did what he wanted for the rest of his career. Deadmau5 was talking about this the other day. He did a couple of collaborations early in his career even though he hated it because he needed to make some money so he could buy new equipment and start his own label. Now, he releases his own albums and never has to answer or please anyone ever again. And his last 3 labums were fucking amazing.
@TheMediaProphet: you made me look for old Ministry and…. boy, am I into it!?!
No words… http://youtu.be/ojnNzHQjhzM
Holy shit, I really strayed off topic.
Yeah I get a strong feeling of sarcasm from this guy.
he is sorta right tho i am reading This Wheel’s On Fire and money & greed is what killed one of the greatest bands in history
Be a homo and suck a wonderful italian sausage.
Wasn’t sure with the last one, but now it’s clear. Ross Robinson trolls the trollmen.
I do sense sarcasm, however he is also making a valid point in the process.
Far too many musicians have simply become either one of two things:
1) complacent
2) cowardly
We’ve all seen the complacent musician. They’re usually the first ones to tell Kerrang! that “This is our heaviest album EVER!” and when the release day comes, it turns out to nothing by 8-bit loops and dubstep. Or worse, a collaboration with Lou Reed.
They have an entourage at least 40-people deep, but no one has the balls enough to give them a dose of reality by admitting their latest venture absolutely sucks balls.
But, because they are a long-time band, with a large fan base, the damn thing cracks the top 10 on the Billboard charts.
Then you have the cowardly musicians. The ones who are absolutely terrified to deviate from the formula they used to create whatever song that made them famous in the first place. They had a hit single and now they’re releasing the same thing over, and over, and over, and over…just tweaking the lyrics enough that it passes as being different.
But, again, because their first hit song gave them a huge fan base, the damn thing cracks the top 10 on the Billboard charts and refuses to go away.
So, I think Ross has it right…if some of these musicians were worried that their next meal was coming from a Jack in the Box dumpster, then maybe, just maybe, it might actually spur some of them towards releasing music with some actual substance.
Our attention span is a 3 sentence max.
I want the conclusion of your statement to have the intense look of Bella Lugosi’s eyes looking directly at Matt Heafy as he eats a half-eaten Checker’s spicy chicken sandwich from a dumpster, crying about his royalty checks.
The idea that metallica makes music for themselves and not money is laughable. Their crusade against free downloads was mean spirited and greedy. Free tapes helped build their name to get their opportunity and then they worked to destroy that same opportunity for new band so they could get every bit of their millions they now ” deserve”. You don’t steal music by download, it is not that kind of property. If someone uses your music to make money that is stealing. To listen to it is actually contributing on its own. Musicians being paid just helps them make more music to listen to. It is a means not a goal. Monetizing it is a construct. Is worth what someone will pay. If you don’t want them to download for free, then give them a product that justifies paying. It shouldn’t be hard to compete with mp3′s. The song itself is out in the world once you put it out there. Controlling it after is arrogant. Somehow musicians often manage to take themselves too seriously, while sucking the really meaningful issues of art
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