Radio host Eddie Trunk reacted to Doyle‘s statement about the meet&greet thing and, of course, his opinion on fans downloading music for free. Listen to what he said here.
Trunk said:
“Here’s why I love this – because the man is speaking honestly. What a concept… That is explosive, for an artist to talk freaking honestly, for once, about everything.
“Whether you like what he said or not, he’s being honest. It’s so rare and refreshing when we get unfiltered honesty from anyone as Doyle has just given you in that quote.
“I saw Doyle a couple of weeks ago at NAMM, but here’s why I love this – because when I said exactly what Doyle just said, in some circles, I got killed for it. Like, every single word out of my mouth, it was isolated on YouTube, it was put up on sites, headline: ‘Eddie Trunk Says Artists Don’t Like Meeting Fans.’
“Because it’s true. It’s a shame when the truth is so newsworthy. Exactly what Doyle just said is exactly – if you pull the audio – what I talked about.
“Now, I’m not saying every single artist, but my point in talking about this was – if you were going to charge people for meet-and-greets, you’ve got to be a politician.
“90% of the artists would rather be doing something else than meet and take a photo with a complete stranger, as much as they tell you that they love their fans.
“That’s why they’re charging for it – because it’s a money-making proposition. But if they didn’t have to, they would much rather be doing something else – sleeping, hanging with their friends, sitting backstage quietly, going to a party…
“But it’s they have to do it to make extra money – exactly what he said, what I said. And certain people were, ‘Oh Eddie, that’s not true’. Thank you, Doyle.”
Trunk also pointed out:
“Let me be clear here, I don’t have a problem with bands or anyone charging for meet-and-greets. I don’t have a problem with any of it, but know what it is in advance.
“There are people that buy meet-n-greets and think that it’s going to get them some sort of standing with the band or looking for something more than it is.
“It is a pure business transaction. A lot of it’s driven by the fact that these artists aren’t making money selling music. That’s why concert prices are exorbitant, that’s why you got KISS out there selling you literally air – they’re selling air guitar strings at their meet-and-greets.
“I mean, that’s why you’ve got people charging all these different VIP packages. Some of it is to offset the money they’re not making in other areas, some of it is actually to make money – greed, whatever you want to call it, but you make money, that’s fine.
“Know what it is going into it. And the absolute, like, dream that these guys are doing it because that’s what they’d rather be doing…
“That’s not saying that they hate their fans, but 99% of them would rather be doing something else after a show but they’re doing it because they’re making money – and a lot of it – by doing it.
“If you’re doing it, it is because it is a business transaction, so you go into it knowing that – and you’re cool with that, that’s fine – but this fantasy of, ‘Well, [we’re doing meet-and-greets] because we want to connect and be with our fans and engage and meet them, find out what they have to say’ is utter bulls**t with 98% of the people.
“I just love the fact that when I said this a few months ago it became, like, ‘Eddie’s saying these things here,’ because I’m being honest! And I just love that an artist has stepped out and said it like it is.
“It’s calling it what it is – a business deal.”
Eddie later added:
“I just give the guy all the credit in the world for laying it out there honestly.
“And what he said about Lars and Napster, I’ve said personally to Lars two or three times, he was a 100% right in retrospect, he caught all the blowback and Doyle was right again when he says, ‘Look, Lars is set for five lifetimes, Lars was looking out for others in that thing.’
“I’ve said to Lars so many times, ‘Do you feel vindicated?’, and he just kind of laughs it off and rolls it off, he doesn’t want to say it but, you know, the guy was proven right.
“The business has destroyed the model for selling music, so you have all this stuff going on, it’s just – it’s amazing to me.”
Getting back to meet-and-greets, the host said:
“You know how many times I’ve been in dressing rooms with bands and they bitch and grumble because now they got to go out and do that meet-and-greet?
“It’s the last thing on the planet most of them want to be doing at that time, but you know, it’s going to make them an extra 10-20 grand for the night, they’re going to go do it.
“And I don’t blame them, it’s pure business and when it comes to the low-level bands – meaning the club-level acts – they’re charging 25$.
“The one thing that Doyle says is that they’re charging 50. If you’re going to a Misfits show, I don’t think anybody’s charging $50. I think the price point’s way higher considering that that band has been doing arenas when they reunited.
“Fifty is, like, the club-level price, but that 50, even if 10 people do it, what’s 10 times 50? If you’re touring at a club level, that could make the difference between being able to tour and not, or being able to have a hotel for the night or not, or the difference between being in a Sprinter van versus a bigger van or even a bus.
“So, that coupled with merch, even at the lowest level can be a huge help to bands at that level. When you get to the higher levels, like arena/stadium, that’s just making money on top of money, you’re just doing that for more and more money.
“But at the lower levels, it’s very helpful. So I’m not judging any of it – just call it what it is and know what it is, that’s all I’m saying.”
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!