Photo Credit: TikTok
Quiet Riot singer Jizzy Pearl has surprisingly harsh words for musicians who are hosting virtual concerts.
Concert promotion and live touring have ground to a halt since February of 2020. Unfortunately, it shows no signs of picking back up, with a new spate of cancellations for 2021 rolling in. But that hasn’t stopped Quiet Riot singer Jizzy Pearl from chiming in with his opinion.
Jizzy took to his Facebook page to put virtual concerts and musicians who host them on blast. “A lot of people have given up on playing live. It’s been a year, and this Zoom shit is old and goofy at this point. Your Rock Star mystique is not enhanced by the visual of you sitting at your computer; I don’t care if you’re Brian May,” Jizzy rants.
“Also, the constant pandering for money… doesn’t look good. We, as musicians, all have bills for sure, but Jesus. Maybe that Mercedes SUV wasn’t a good idea,” he continues.
Pearl took a lot of heat from fans and other industry professionals for that opinion. But that didn’t stop him from following up on Facebook with another comment. “I took a little heat about my last post – insensitive; some might say,” Pearl begins. “People gotta eat, some might say. Yes, that’s true, I’m in the same boat as everyone else; all work has evaporated,” the Quiet Riot singer admits.
“‘When’s it coming back?’ I don’t know; nobody does. But doing weekly StageIts and weekly tip jars? It’s like slowly cutting off pieces of yourself, selling yourself short bit-by-bit. When it’s all over, who’s gonna want to pay $20 or $30 to see you or your band when they’ve seen you for $5?” he asks.
The notion that concert tickets ‘only cost $20-$30’ is a ridiculous one in itself. After Ticketmaster fees and surcharges, you’re looking at a $100 seat for the nosebleeds for any popular artist born after 1980.
But Jizzy Pearl didn’t stop the rant there. He had a few choice things to say about virtual concerts, too.
“And the new normal is virtual concerts?” he asks. “That’s awesome, so instead of doing 20 or 30 shows a year, I get to do just one? How exciting! What about the rest of the year, no more touring? This is our wonderful future?”
For now, the answer is yes, Jizzy Pearl. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he believes live events may resume this fall if 70% of America receives the vaccine. That’s dependent upon the vaccine rollout going as planned.
Oh Lemmy please ?
Well if the increasingly wealthy Apple corporation would allow artists to do a special sale release on their streaming platform artists could actually sell their art again for a brief moment and stop having to beg for money on these virtual concerts.
Streaming companies could solve the problem of artist royalty rates by allowing a small amount of sales that would allow the fans to support their favorite acts while still Staying in the streaming eco system.
Blaming tech companies is a weak go-to for the problems of musicians. If people have a problem with what is currently offered, they should build their own. Oh wait, it costs money, takes time and requires skills. Artists need to get creative and branch out to make the money they need to survive. Enough complaining.
Nice try Bryan….you may not remember the “great fall”in the 90’s…via napster,…the fall that crippled an already ailing industry, riddled with crime,shady deals,etc.etc.but also riddled with artists getting paid,super stars,mega tours,$$$$..and the decision made by the courts regarding the value of music in connection to napster that came at the end of the 90’s{into the 00’s}….all of which brought us to where we are now….it ain’t pretty, but tech companies have the starring role in this sh*t…….after that little saga played out, people and companies began to change the way they think&feel about music….its worth…….are you a victim of that train of thought without knowing it?
The blame game seems to fit you perfectly, but it isn’t the answer. I worked at Napster. My job was to negotiate with the RIAA and PROs so the platform could monetize file transfers and pay artists, but the industry was so protective of it’s golden goose that it didn’t want to disturb the insider corruption. Don’t blame tech for the music industry downfall.
All this but no solution. Don’t bring me no bad news Jizzy. What’s the solution? What recommendations do you have? Sitting and complaining about the situation we ALL are in is non-productive.
It’s a messed up situation for everybody. Still, some of us don’t do what we do just for the money. Maybe you do.
Hard to stay in business when you are competing with ‘stolen’ and the value of your product is brought down to ZERO! How about FREE WINE for everybody then see how good the wine tastes next year? Napster, Kazaa, Limewire, etc. etc. and who were the ones who flooded to those sites to avoid paying the musicians for their music? Oh yes, the music fans!! “If you don’t give us your music for free, we’ll just go steal it anyway” gang are the main reason why 60% of Pro musicians have quit the music business. And it is pretty obvious to them that most music fans could give a rat’s ass about how musicians pay their bills or feed their families! Nice people these music fans …..
Wrong. The value of music isn’t one that can be measured in money. It’s one about time. What do consumers value more? Phones, video games, Internet, etc. took the place of music. The music industry got it’s lunch eaten because it failed to pay attention, keep up, innovate and keep music valuable. They pushed, and continue to push, artists who were short-term money grabs as opposed to developing artists who had longevity to keep the business afloat. It’s shameful, but they and people like you will point fingers at others, accepting no responsibility or fail to understand the reality of the situation.