MUSTAINE: 'The Music Industry As We Know It Will Probably Be Gone Within The Next Five Years'

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the "Forums" section of the band's official web site:

"Thank you so much for all of your terrific input, comments, requests, suggestions, and just plain out all-around support for Megadeth Radio.

"We are making tremendous progress with the station, and I humbly thank you for your help getting the word out to the masses that there is a radio station out here that hears what you want to hear, and while this is about the music that I like, the music that the rest of the band likes, and some songs that would really surprise people — called 'Zingers,' we are making history right now with our station.

"Here is just some of the bands that were played this last week on any typical day:

* MEGADETH - 1320
* AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
* SAXON - Princess of the Night
* OPETH - Ghost of Perdition
* CROWDED HOUSE - Don't Dream It's Over
* VAN HALEN - Romeo Delight
* MACHINE HEAD - Days Turn Blue To Gray
* RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - Testify
* MOTÖRHEAD - Hellraiser
* ZZ TOP - Tush
* MEGADETH - Good Mourning/Black Friday
* ALICE IN CHAINS - God Smack
* SLAYER - Spill the Blood
* ALICE COOPER - Poison
* BOSTON - More than a Feeling
* AC/DC - You Shook me all Night Long
* JUDAS PRIEST - Living After Midnight
* LYNYRD SKYNYRD - What's Your Name
* MEGADETH - A Tout Le Monde
* TESTAMENT - Ride
* THE BEATLES - Magical Mystery Tour
* PANTERA - Walk
* SKID ROW - I Remember You
* NIRVANA - Lithium
* UFO - Alone Again Or
* BLUE ÖYSTER CULT - The Reaper
* MEGADETH - This Day We Fight
* GUNS N' ROSES - Don't Cry
* BLACK SABBATH - Mob Rules
* REM - It's The End of the World as We Know It
* MEGADETH - Of Mice and Men
* ARCH ENEMY - I am Legend/Out For Blood
* MEGADETH - The Conjuring
* AC/DC - T.N.T.
* DEATH - Symbolic
* IRON MAIDEN - Stranger in a Strange Land
* MEGADETH - Dialectic Chaos
* MACHINE HEAD - Exhale the Vile
* AEROSMITH - Walkin' the Dog
* HOLLIES - Long Cool Woman
* VAN HALEN - Right Now
* SLAYER - South of Heaven
* DREAM THEATER - As I Am
* DIO - We Rock
* LED ZEPPELIN - Going to California
* MEGADETH - Headcrusher
* METALLICA - Seek and Destroy
* AC/DC - Problem Child
* ZZ TOP - I Thank You
* BLACK SABBATH - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
* JUDAS PRIEST - Screaming For Vengence
* ALICE IN CHAINS - It Ain't Like That
* MEGADETH - The Conjuring
* MOTÖRHEAD - Bomber
* RAY CHARLES - Georgia on My Mind
* KISS - Strutter
* PANTERA - Domination
* MEGADETH - Countdown To Extinction
* RAMMSTEIN - Adios
* MACHINE HEAD - Ten Ton Hammer
* EXODUS - Going Going Gone
* MEGADETH - 44 Minutes
* ARCH ENEMY - Seed of Hate
* AC/DC - Touch Too Much
* PRONG - Beg To Differ
* ELTON JOHN - Bennie And The Jets
* METALLICA - Am I Evil?
* GUNS N' ROSES - It's So Easy
* DETHKLOK - Brief Case Full of Guts
* SLAYER - Blood Red
* BLACK SABBATH - War Pigs
* PINK FLOYD - Comfortably Numb
* MEGADETH - This is Where The Story Ends
* VAN HALEN - Bottoms Up!
* ANTHRAX - Only
* AC/DC - It's A Long Way To the Top
* METALLICA - Battery
* MEGADETH - Crush 'Em
* AC/DC - Night Prowler
* VAN HALEN - Atomic Punk
* MOTÖRHEAD - Hellraiser
* MACHINE HEAD - Old

"So, as you can see, I am true to my word!

"Be sure to check out Net Worth Coffee Brokers too this holiday season, as this is the only time each year that we make up the very special Christmas Blend. This blend of coffee sells out every year, because it is difficult to make, and when I say every year, that means that our roaster sells out, and the amount allotted for us is gone too!

"I deeply want to thank you all for the contributions that you make on each bag of coffee that you buy, as it goes to a good cause, and this year I was able to get $10,000.00 worth of toys to donate to local charities this Christmas. Now that would be enough in most cases, but the good people of Hasbro Toys in Connecticut, have matched me dollar-for-dollar, and now I have $20,000.00 worth of toys that we are going to be distributing to the Children's Hospital in San Diego, the local churches and especially my church I attend in Vista, Cal., to give to the homeless outreach programs we have at North Coast, and last, but not least, to the United States Marines 'Toys for Tots' program; a very noble program that has been around ever since I was born (from what I can remember).

"One of our own Droogs here, Megajeff, has helped me ever since I started doing this and I am eternally grateful for your assistance and your servants heart for these children Jeff.

"Please tune in to Megadeth Radio and keep it tuned in for stories from me, new interviews with Shawn Drover, and next week, we will be trying to add interviews with the three bands on our 'Endgame' tour; MACHINE HEAD, SUICIDE SILENCE, and ARCANIUM.

"In closing, I wanted to thank all of the fans who have been coming out to the shows. I am sorry that some of you have waited and ended up not getting tickets, but there are some places that are still not sold out, and even some cases where we are in the wrong building (too big or too small),but we will fight everyday for you and we will fight this day, especially tomorrow night.

"I think I see a clue in there.

"FINALLY: just to be crystal clear, at the shows we are selling our new 'Endgame' record, and because our research shows that it is not being stocked in many of the music stores around the States (which I think is counter-intuitive if one wants to sell records, but I am semi-smart and if you want things done right, DIY, right?),we are giving out aftershow passes of a sort for you to meet me and one of the guys after the show. When you buy a copy of 'Endgame' at the shows we will gladly sign your new 'Endgame' record, but there are also some requests we AND the building would like to make.

"You see, I have to pay for the security to stay late to protect us, to protect you, and to keep the building secure. If I take a picture with everyone (especially the people who don't know how to use their own stupid cameras),and sign everything that everyone has, we will not get out of the building without paying more money than we would even make from selling the CDs. I am trying every way that I can to treat you right, yet every night someone will come up to me and bitch because we are not taking pictures. That, or we are not signing the thirty cards they bring, or a sweaty guitar pick, or WHATEVER!!!

"I just don't get it. We are done, we are tired, we are hungry, we still put you ahead of us, and yet that is still not good enough for some of the people in the lines; and this is just the way some people act. I know some of you have driven a long way, and I know some of you have had sick boyfriends or girlfriends, or you've had someone die, or whatnot. With all due respect . . . NO PICTURES AND ONE AUTOGRAPH PER PERSON PER RECORD.

"Simple, right?

"So please, understand that if you come through the line after the show and you are with someone and think that entitles you to more stuff from us, that is not what we are doing here, if you want to take pictures and you haven't gotten enough after 90 minutes of me playing right in front of you, well then, you will prolly never get enough photos. That doesn't change the fact that we are not going to be doing it, and by asking, you put us all in an awkward position of having to tell you 'NO.' And I don't want to say 'no' to y'all ever. But you know I will, if I have to.

"Here's a practice one, 'Hey, Dave, I drove three months from Iceland underwater in a whale's bladder, and I need you to sign this captains hat I got from my great grandfather who was named Davey Jones. He couldn't come because his wife is delivering a litter of sea lions, and . . . . ' * tires screeching*

"And I say, 'NO!'

"Or, 'I am getting deployed tomorrow,' to which I would say, 'Really, what branch,' and you say, 'Well, its the Royal Princess Cruises, BUT I am still getting deployed!'

"I guess if you really took to heart that we are saying 'no pictures, one autograph only per person' for really good reason — and that is, if you can't do what we ask and what we need to be able to do this safely and to have fun, then we prolly won't be able to do it much longer.

"The music industry as we know it will probably be gone within the next five years, for sure within the next ten, and all of these people who treated the bands like crap, and cheated or stole from them, who ruined lives of the families attached to the band members, that played craps with these people's lives, with their lying and their laziness, and I for one am finding this very bittersweet.

"I am off to bed now, and we are going to be able to start our show tomorrow with the opening songs that I have wanted to do since we started this new tour. Of course there will prolly be some mistakes, because it will be the first time that I play it tomorrow night, let alone try to sing it.

"After tomorrow night, there are only a few songs left to work into the set and we will have effectively boosted our repertoire for the 'Endgame' tour.

"I will have some crap news to post in a few days once we get the final answer; you see, it looks like we are going to pass on the great idea for the summer that was presented to us, with terms that were not satisfactory for us to conduct our business the way that we wanted to, and the way that we NEED to in order to deliver the goods to you.

"I told you that I am happy right now. I am not going to jump at something just because it looks like the right thing to do. I would LOVE to do something like what we were all hoping this summer, but only under fair terms. I am not servile or scraping, and as one of God's kids (even though I am one of the more naughty ones),I crawl before no one."