BILLY SHEEHAN Embraces Changes In Music Industry: 'There's Great Opportunities Now'

In a new interview with The Raw Vibe, legendary rock bassist Billy Sheehan spoke about how the music industry has undergone a dramatic transformation with the advent of digital technology and social media platforms. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's no record companies anymore, really. It used to be you had a couple of good songs, you'd get in touch with a record company, and if your luck was in order, [they'd say], 'Hey, well, we'll do a demo deal. We'll pay for you to go in and demo some songs in a pro studio. And they would, and they'd spend 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, $50,000 on a demo. And then somebody liked it, and then they would do a record deal and you'd get a bunch of money to make a record. And then they'd support you to go on tour and you'd open up for a big band and then do a headline thing, and then pretty soon you've got a platinum record. And that was pretty much how it worked. There's no record companies around anymore. [And] not many studios. And it costs a lot to go in a studio. But on the other side, you've got the Internet, and you're a couple of clicks away from the entire population of the world. You can reach everybody, everywhere. From this phone that I'm holding right now, I can send music to people in Indonesia, in Japan, every state of the United States. And also you've got production stuff on a phone or an iPad. You can do a whole record. It sounds great, and it's real. And play and record drums and record guitar, bass, vocals."

Billy continued: "My software in my little home studio here, if it was all real and in a real studio, it'd be worth millions of dollars. Pultec EQs — can you find one for less than $75,000 anywhere? No. But I got software versions all day. You got the best. It's a digital version of it. Everyone's using it. It works great… But you can do a whole record, no problem, right in your bedroom. So you don't need $50,000 that you will owe back to them, to the record company for the rest of their life. And you've got DistroKid and Spotify and you can get your music out anywhere and start promoting it yourself. So as much as some of the opportunities have gone away, I think they've actually improved now, because everybody's got access. If you've got a laptop or a phone, you can record music. And you can be in touch."

Sheehan added: "People contact me from all over the world: 'Hey, will you play bass on a track?' And I say, 'Sure. Yeah.' So they send me the track. I learn it. Nominal fee — I don't charge a lot of money — and I hire my engineer to come in and we lay down a totally pro bass track for them. Send it off to them. They're happy. And they end up doing 10 more tracks with me. I do a lot of recording here [at home]. During the pandemic, we did over 600 tracks for people around the world. And we just did 20 in the last two weeks. So it just keeps going. And it's cool. A great experience for us. We're playing to all kinds of music — from country to death metal and some uncategorizable. It's just a riot and a great experience. But yeah, so there's great opportunities now. You just have to get out there and get it."

Sheehan has played with David Lee Roth, MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS, TALAS and SONS OF APOLLO. He's also won Guitar Player magazine's "Best Bass Player" poll several times and is in-demand at clinics and as a session player.

Sheehan has played bass on dozens of records and toured all over the world for many decades, with a unique and original style of playing that has been widely celebrated and documented. Starting in his former hometown of Buffalo, New York with the now legendary hard rock trio TALAS, he went on to join former VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth in 1985, along with guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Gregg Bissonette. In 1987, Billy left to start his own band, MR. BIG, and in 1996, he founded NIACIN, a fusion/blues trio that featured drummer Dennis Chambers. More recently, Billy joined DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist Richie Kotzen to form THE WINERY DOGS.

Sheehan has changed the way bass guitar is played. He recorded two platinum-selling albums with Roth before setting out on his own. Forming MR. BIG in 1989, the band achieved a Billboard No. 1 single in the U.S. and 14 other countries with "To Be With You" from MR. BIG's second Atlantic Records album release "Lean Into It". While developing his trademark style of playing, he performed over 4,000 live gigs on every continent except Africa and Antarctica.

On January 27, 1999, Billy's handprints and signature were preserved in cement on the Hollywood RockWalk at Guitar Center, an honor reserved for those artists who have made a significant contribution to rock and roll.