Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale says he’s “at a loss” when it comes to figuring out how young bands make money these days, noting that it’s a “terrifying” time to be an aspiring musician.
The singer-guitarist was recently a guest on Canada’s Q with Tom Power show ahead of Bush’s upcoming spring North American tour with Rival Sons and Filter (pick up tickets here). Toward the end of the interview, Power asked Rossdale about the current environment in the music industry versus the time when Bush was starting out.
Rossdale responded (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “Well, quite obviously, when I began, if you made something good, people might buy it. Now, if you make something good, people might stream it. And I have two sons that are poised to make music their lives, and I couldn’t be more concerned for them.”
He continued, “I’ve been a musician my whole life and I’m at a loss to explain to someone how to do it, how to build from the ground up, how to get a career in that. It’s just terrifying because how do musicians, how do young bands get paid? I can’t work it out. I don’t know. Maybe you get one song with loads of streams and we know that Spotify barely pays, and whatever they pay, the record companies make sure they siphon off most of it before it goes to the artist. So it’s the same deal — artists getting screwed, record companies making a fortune and getting all the money. So same shitty business, but if you love it, what are you gonna do? You just do the best you can. And you can obviously make money touring, but it takes a while to build up a catalog, so if you wanna come and see you, that’s a crap shoot.”
Rossdale concluded, “So, the difference is I think it’s much, much harder now, and it was nearly impossible then. So, I don’t know what the odds are, but they don’t feel good for young musicians, which breaks my heart for them because we always need music. We always need people’s opinions. A.I. can take care of many things, but you talk about people relating to other people, it’s by writing that brutally painful, honest lyric that other people can relate and get strength from. That exchange will never go away because people will continue to be upset and look for other people that understand.”
Bush emerged in an era when album sales were still bountiful. The UK rock band’s debut LP, 1994’s Sixteen Stone, has been certified six-times platinum in the United States alone, while its follow-up, 1996’s Razorblade Suitcase, has reached triple-platinum status.
See Gavin Rossdale’s full interview on the Q with Tom Power show below.