ROB ZOMBIE: 'Record Labels Are Dinosaurs Waiting To Die'

In the March 2008 issue of Metal Edge magazine (web site),Rob Zombie paints a bleak picture of the music industry's future, insisting that record labels are "overstuffed, overpaid dinosaurs" who "won't exist" in a few years. Discussing his new album, "Zombie Live", he starts an avalanche of hatred that threatens to roll up the entire interview.

"I think the record labels are dinosaurs waiting to die, and that they're putting themselves out to pasture," he said. "They all have a defeatist attitude. And that's why in another couple of years, they won't exist. The funny thing is, the record labels for years have done thing that's bullshit, and that's blame the artists. 'It's the artist's fault.' But it's not the artist's fault. People love music. People have always loved music, people will always love music — people want more music now than they've ever wanted in their lives. Whether it's through Guitar Hero or their iPhone, or anything — people are music-crazy. But the music industry is always blaming the artists: 'Oh, it's not the right single. Oh, it's not the right album. Oh, it's not this, it's not that.' You know what? They're full of shit. They're just overpaid and lazy, and it's all crumbled around them. But the art is not going anywhere. You go out there, and there's more tours than ever, the shows are bigger than ever, the crowds are crazier than ever, the fans are younger than ever; there's no lack of demand for the music or the bands or anything. It's just that the record labels are these overstuffed, overpaid dinosaurs. They're gonna die. The music's not going anywhere."

He continued, "The problem with the record industry is that they've tried to emulate the film business. The film business is very much about the opening weekend — you know, a movie will come out, and they can tell right away. By the end of the first day of release, they'll go 'it's a hit or 'it's a stiff.' They've got it down to a science. With 'Halloween', by the end of opening day, they had told me — the estimates were actually lower than the business it actually did. But right away they can tell you if it's a smash or it's not. But with a record, it used to be that you'd work it. The first WHITE ZOMBIE record we did with Geffen, eventually it went double-platinum. The first single didn't fly, but I knew it was a hit. We kept working it — I made them release 'Thunder Kiss '65' three times. And guess what? By the third time they released it and put some work into it, it was a hit. But now, with this new philosophy — like with the [recently released ROB ZOMBIE] live album, they put it out there, they put, like, five minutes of work into it, and they're, like, 'We're done.' Well, what do you expect? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. They say 'No one busy CDs,' so they don't bother to sell them."

For more information, visit www.MetalEdgeMag.com.