[Max Raker]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If your only goal was to sell records, how big of a rock star do you think you could have been? Billy Corgan big? Much bigger? Which rock star would you place as the upper bound on how famous you could have become?

[/ QUOTE ]
You realize that I have worked on records that have sold many millions of copies, right? I've made a reasonable living for 20 years doing only things that I thought were within the bounds of my ethics. I'm not just guessing when I say it is possible to survive and flourish without "selling out." Along the way, I have been offered things that would have earned me literally millions of dollars, and I decided that my peace of mind was worth more than that, so I didn't do them.

The most obvious case is that I am paid a flat fee for my work as an engineer, rather than paid out of a band's royalty. This has directly benefited the bands I work with (and consequently cost me) several million dollars. Despite which, I have never gone hungry, built a nice business and been able to release records and tour the world pretty much at will. Not selling out hasn't hindered me in the slightest.

I mention this not to make note of any accomplishments of mine (a necessity, but one that took me several pages of discussion to relent to), but to show you that the world is not divided into rock stars on one hand and miserable bar bands on the other. There is a comfortable independent realm that is inhabited by thousands of bands like mine, and selling out is neither an objective or necessarily any real improvement in conditions for them.

There is an apocryphal story about Ahmet Ertegun approaching Ian MacKaye of Fugazi in an attempt to get him to sign with Atlantic. He says something like, "I can offer you your own label and a million dollars." To which Ian replies, "I already have my own label and a million dollars."

If you mean could I have been a rock star in the manner Billy Corgan, well no, probably not. I'm not a very good singer, I'm nothing special to look at, and the music I make doesn't appeal to a large audience.

[/ QUOTE ]


Hmmm, Ok. I was just refering to this statement that you made

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
which I think is BS, like they wouldn't sell out for millions if they had a chance).

[/ QUOTE ]
Especially considering who you're talking to right now, you ought to realize this is pure nonsense.


[/ QUOTE ]

I thought your were implying that you were given the opportunity to "sell out" and you chose not to. I am pretty familiar with your career, though I first heard of you as "the dude Kurt Cobain got to record his last album."
I only discovered your bands' music much later, when I was in college.

I didn't mean to imply that you have not had a good career in music or that you are nothing since you might not be considered a "rock star" or whatever.

You answered my question in the last paragraph. Thanks!


And if you are still with me, you said that taking a flat fee helped the bands you worked with. Did it benefit them in anyway besides the obvious monetary one for bands that sell alot of albums?

Also, I believe you charge bands like Bush and Nirvana more than if I or some other random dudes wanted to record with you. Why do you think this is ethical? (I am not criticisizing you here, I know you have been very vocal on this issue [wrt to royalties] and I want to understand your view better.) Thanks again for a great thread!!!!