LAST IN LINE/Ex-OZZY OSBOURNE Bassist PHIL SOUSSAN: How 'The Structure For Monetizing Music Has Changed'

In a new interview with Sean P McKenna, host of "Rimshots With Sean" on Barstools And Bandtalk, bassist Phil Soussan, who played on Ozzy Osbourne's "The Ultimate Sin" album and was credited with co-writing one of Ozzy's biggest hits, "Shot In The Dark", spoke about the way artists collect revenue from new, non-traditional sources. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that the structure for monetizing music has changed. So, at one time, I think, we used to give you a, 'Here, have a free lighter,' 'Have a free headband,' 'Have a free baseball cap,' 'Here's a cheap concert ticket. Come to our gig, and then please go buy the record.' Now, what we do is we give you the record and say, 'Here, come to our show. Buy a baseball cap. Buy a lighter. Buy a t-shirt. Buy an expensive concert ticket.' So, we've really changed the monetization for it. And the music has become effectively a loss leader. You're not really expecting to make that money from the music directly; you're gonna make it from merchandise, you're gonna make it from concert tickets. In a way, that might be more pure, because you cannot duplicate or replicate a live concert experience. You can't bootleg it. You have to go. And that's what it's brought the focus back to, is to the live show."

Asked if he thinks there will ever be a point where it's going to come back around and musicians will be able to earn more money from their music, Soussan said: "I don't know. If it does come around, it'll come around before we even know it. But I can't see how it will come back to selling music because at this point now people have new music… You go to South America. In South America, nobody buys any music anymore — it's all Spotify, it's all streaming services. Once people have access to the music they want to hear, there's no real need to buy it. The only exception is from a collector's standpoint. So vinyl or autographed CDs as collector's items and stuff like that. We do a terrific amount of business with both of those things, for obvious reasons… So you get that kind of stuff, that kind of activity. I don't know that it's going to all go back to something like that again. I would hope that they manage to figure, 'cause I'm not involved with the Recording Academy anymore, but that somebody manages to take the battle on that can allow us to have a little bit of extra revenue."

Phil continued: "When I see the CEOs of Spotify raising rates, raising subscription rates, taking huge amounts of compensation, and then their stock price actually soaring as well on top of it. I think that they've got sufficient funds to be able to sort of pay us a little bit more.

"When all of this started, the debate was, 'Look, we're starting this new kind of conceptual business, but we need a reduced rate in order that we could get off ourselves off the ground.' And the music community is always willing to help someone else. [It] cut them a great deal. Well, you know what? It never went back. It was never readdressed. In fact, the discussions afterwards were, 'We're paying you too much.' … So, I would like to see a little bit more consideration and assistance from that community towards us, towards us as musicians."

Soussan joined LAST IN LINE in 2016 following the passing of the band's original bassist, Jimmy Bain.

Phil made his live debut with LAST IN LINE in April 2016 at Count's Vamp'd Rock Bar & Grill in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to Soussan joining LAST IN LINE, he and singer Andrew Freeman had played together in the acclaimed Las Vegas rock and roll production "Raiding The Rock Vault". In addition, Phil and LAST IN LINE drummer Vinny Appice had done a number of shows together as members of the all-star jam band BIG NOIZE.

Named by Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records "the most underrated bass player in the rock/blues world," Soussan he has played with a who's who of artists including Jimmy Page, BEGGARS & THIEVES, Johnny Hallyday, Steve Lukather and Edgar Winter. As a songwriter, he wrote music for Vince Neil's first solo album "Exposed" and Lukatherʼs "Luke" solo album, then followed it up by writing and arranging "After You're Gone", the opening track on TOTO's "Mindfields" album, which was later nominated for a Grammy.

In 2006, Soussan released his first solo album, "Vibrate", and followed up in 2011 with his second solo album, "No Protection".