Bruce Dickinson recently talked with France 24’s Marjorie Hache about how government regulations and taxation affect smaller bands.
Iron Maiden’s vocalist shared the struggles young bands face now, stating:
“Well, look, there’s a market for this kind of music. There’s an audience for this kind of music. But the problem, for me, and there are several — one is that this music exists to be played live. The tragedy now is that between government-slash-E.U. [European Union] legislation and taxation and everything else like that — I mean, the big bands, they have accountants, and they can deal with tax and all the rest of it, but the smaller bands, a government saying, ‘Ah, yes, we’ll take 20 percent of your money and put it against tax.’”
Bands Need Places To Play And More Income
He went on to reveal other hardships for smaller bands:
“A band that’s getting paid 500 euros for a show can’t afford to have 100 euros taken away. At the same time, there’s a lack of venues, so now we’ve gone crazy about health and safety and blah blah blah, but bands need venues to play in, and bands need to be paid more for their music. So there needs to be a revolution in the royalties that musicians get paid directly from streaming.”
Different Pricing For Different Audiences
In a new conversation with Mexico’s ATMósferas Magazine, Dickinson defended the rights of the music audience this time. He gave his thoughts on ticket prices:
“But for me, what’s important is to try and keep, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price. So by that I mean the right type of tickets, I mean, the tickets that are in front of the stage, which everybody says should be the most expensive tickets. Actually, no, they should be the most reasonably priced tickets, ’cause the people who are gonna go there to the front of the stage are gonna be people who are real fans, people who are kids, people who can’t afford the crazy money, but they are the people that need to be down the front; they’re the people that are gonna keep this music alive.”
Bruce gets ready to hit the road with his solo touring band on April 15 in Orange County, California. In the following days, he has concerts in the UK, South America, and Europe.
You can check out his whole chat below.