Original QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate discussed the diminishing album sales across the music sphere, telling Rock Titan during a recent interview (watch entire interview below): “At some point, in the ’90s, I’m thinking that, from my memory, collectively the world just decided that music should be free and people just started taking it. And nobody did anything about it.
“Now, what if we do that today – we all decide, ‘Hey, automobiles should be free. Let’s just all take them and see what happens.’ Interesting social experiment, huh? Or how about groceries? Go to the grocery store and fill up your cart and walk away. See who stops you.”
Focusing on METALLICA‘s Lars Ulrich and Napster, Geoff added: “Hats off to him for standing up and saying what he felt, ’cause he was right. I challenge anybody to suffer an 85% loss in their income, like musicians did – people that wrote music, that wrote songs. 85% loss in income – that’s staggering.”
Asked about what advice he would give to his younger self, Tate replied: “I would have gotten some sort of business education. I’ve really been – how do I put it – I don’t know anything about business.
“I’ve had some pretty tough situations arise from twice record companies going out of business just right after they release a record, with no record company support, no nothing – the record just doesn’t sell. Twice that’s happened to me.
“I’ve had managers embezzle millions of dollars from the band – just all kinds of horror stories. I would have taken some sort of business education early on.
“Nobody in the band QUEENSRŸCHE, none of us went to college. We started this right out of high school. And [you end up] trusting a lot of people, and a lot of people lead you astray and a lot of people have the best intentions but then get waylaid with their own problems, which affects you, and it’s a domino effect.
“I’m not complaining – I mean, I’ve had a really good and great life and I’m very happy – but it’s been trying at times. But I guess that’s part of what makes life interesting too.
“If it was all so easy, then – I don’t know – maybe there wouldn’t be the music there is, ’cause that has a lot to do with writing what you feel when you go through experiences you have – it comes out in your music.”