Michael Wilton opines that no band can live on streaming royalties paying 1/100th of a cent for one play
Michael Wilton opines that no band can live on streaming royalties paying 1/100th of a cent for one play
Queensrÿche guitarist Michael Wilton was recently interviewed by Andrew Catania for All That Shreds in order to presumably promote the band’s latest studio album The Verdict.
Wilton was asked whether the band has the energy of when it first started out with the acclaim received for The Verdict. The guitarist replied:
“I mean obviously, this is an evolution of Queensryche and the energy in the band right now is great. The creative and the cohesiveness of the writing and everything is perfect. It took a while but that’s what we’re doing. This is the Queensryche machine and has everybody in it now that’s writing really well. It’s a great band experience and I love it.
It’s kind of based on the career right now of having to tour so much for hard rock bands and progressive rock and metal because not many people are supporting and buying CDs. People are just aren’t supporting and buying CDs. They just stream music. And if you’ve seen the royalty payout on streaming, it’s 1/100th of a cent for one play. No band can live off that.”
In terms of the band’s setlist, Wilton advised: “We’ve kind of split the set list up so it’s 50% legacy and 50% LaTorre Queensryche. Obviously, you get the casual Queensryche fans at the concert and want to hear the hits and you get the hardcore Rychers that want to hear the new music. It was a blend that we had to put together in a 90-minute set. We took the new songs out and put them on YouTube and played in rehearsals. We wanted to represent each album.”
You can read the rest of the interview with Michael Wilton at All That Shreds‘ website.