DUFF MCKAGAN: 'Nobody Sells Records Like We Did In The '90s Or '80s'

June 16, 2009

VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan, who is currently on the road with his DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED project, recently spoke to Noisecreep about how the record industry has changed since the late '80s when GN'R first burst onto the scene with its iconic "Appetite for Destruction" debut.

"Anybody that spends too much on a record these days, that's fool's money spent," McKagan said. "Nobody sells records like we did in the '90s or '80s. It's not the business model anymore. People get their music for free off the Internet."

"We [DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED] signed with a small, indie label [Century Media], which was really cool. There's not a lot of pressure like you get from a major. Major labels are becoming a thing of the past."

McKagan admits DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED, which was first formed a decade ago, is more widely known in Europe and Japan — and thinks it is just plain harder to crack America as an established artist. "I think people from the States don't look at that as valid," he said. "Like 'Oh, really? So and so from this band thinks he can put out his own record and we'll come see him play? No. Ain't gonna happen.' They don't really give the music a chance. But we're going out to try our best. All I know is we made a record I really love and am passionate about."

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