During an interview with The Guardian, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor talked about how a lot of bands are splitting up because they “can’t make a living” out of music.
He said: “The industry is trying to make peace with streaming, they’re finding out how to monetise it, but they’re still screwing over the artists.”
“I’m in a unique situation because I’m in the old system, but I’m actually able to make a pretty decent living with the new system,” Taylor continued. “I find it hard to bite the hand that feeds me. But at the same time I see all these other bands who can’t get a break. I don’t know what the answer is to be honest.”
“I’m stoked for people like Ed Sheeran – that kid worked his a*s off, so why shouldn’t he get the recognition? But at the same time when his songs dominated [the charts] because of streaming, where is the fairness? What about the other artists who worked their a*ses off, but maybe didn’t have a million streams?”
Taylor went on to criticise the appropriation of metal culture within the mainstream and fashion worlds, as well as metal’s flirting with fascist iconography.