SCOTT HOLIDAY On How RIVAL SONS Treat Royalty Income: 'We Don't Split Everything Equally, But We Split Things Very Amicably'

In the latest episode of Soren's Sunday Session, RIVAL SONS guitarist Scott Holiday joined Danish guitarist and producer Søren Andersen for an honest conversation about rock 'n' roll, songwriting, guitar tone and surviving the music business. Addressing the fact that some bands split royalty income equally — publishing and sound recording — Scott said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everybody's gonna do things differently, and that's a really interesting controversial topic. I think it's really personal. I think it's really personal for every band how they wanna do it. I think ultimately that idea of just splitting everything evenly doesn't always make sense and doesn't always work. Everybody should be credited appropriately, that's what I think. But financially how you wanna split things up, I think… We don't split everything equally, but we split things very amicably, I'll say. Things make sense… We have an agreement that we basically work under, and I think there's some movement for that too."

Scott continued: "This is interesting too. So much in music you don't make an agreement before. And you know what happens if you do make the agreement too early and you start to decide that people don't like that agreement? No music is ever made. So it becomes difficult like that. But I think what you need to do is have a light kind of idea and know who you're working with and know how things kind of need to go, and then you can kind of negotiate on the back of a record. Because you might say, 'I'm gonna write all the songs, so that's how we're gonna split it up.' But then during the process, you and another partner — maybe my drummer writes a whole bunch of stuff, gives me all this inspiration, and it's, like, 'I don't think I want all that credit. I think you deserve something in that, so we're gonna change the agreement a little and split it up a little bit differently.'"

Holiday's solo project, HOL1D4Y, released its debut album, "Topology", on September 25, 2026 on RIVAL SONS' label Sacred Tongue Recordings, distributed worldwide via Thirty Tigers.

RIVAL SONS' current U.S. tour kicked off on October 30 in Boise, Idaho and will finish up on November 29 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

RIVAL SONS are being joined by Canadian blues rock duo THE BLUE STONES and Colorado based rock trio THE VELVETEERS on most shows.

RIVAL SONS have been back in the studio working on a new album, expected next year.

RIVAL SONS released their last albums, "Darkfighter" and "Lightbringer", in 2023, subverting expectations with two full-length albums in one year.

RIVAL SONS frontman Jay Buchanan released his debut solo album, "Weapons Of Beauty", earlier this year, a more intimate and cinematic body of work that debuted at No. 10 on the U.S. Americana chart.

Photo by Rob Blackham