When it comes to becoming a super rich and famous musician, the odds of making it are so astronomically small that it’s hard to imagine. Right place, right time and all that shit. It’s a big reason why metal singers decide to hang it up end land on some corner of the internet writing about the genre instead…
But if becoming a major rock star is your goal, then surely someone like Behemoth’s Nergal will get you straight, right? Surely he’ll tell you how to get to the top of the mountain. During a recent interview with Chaoszine, he laid down the magic formula for everyone to get rich rocking out:
“Don’t start any bands. And I’m not even kidding here. Don’t do it. The world is overwhelmed with bands, with records with albums. There’s really no space there for anything. There’s only seven days a week. There’s too many tours around. There’s too many shows.”
…oh.
It’s true that music is becoming inundated with so much music that it’s damn near impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff. Speaking from experience, there are tons of small bands that seek exposure and recognition, yet end up becoming a speck in the static that only a 24/7 pipeline of new music could create.
In fact, we recently had a report that Spotify is constantly reaching and surpassing the 100,000 songs uploaded per day mark. That’s so much music that it’s impossible to listen to it all. Couple in any future economic problems, Nergal said, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster if you’re looking to make it in music.
“People don’t have – and will have less and less money. So, all the tours are suffering. Do you really want to put another song on another album that no one will pay attention to? No, you don’t want to do that. Go find yourself a proper job. Finish university, travel, and enjoy life – don’t do this.”
Nergal has a point, but I can’t help but hear my father in his statement. “You should go to college,” he said. “You need a good paying job,” he said. I sure fooled him! I went to college and got a degree in journalism — so I did the first and failed at the other! Woo!
Anyway, you can hear the entire interview with Nergal below and find out what other sage advice he’s got.