Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows has shared his thoughts on the current landscape of traditional record deals, and how viral tracks are often a big focus for labels.
A7X have been doing things differently in recent years to gain more control over their revenue. Their 2023 album, Life Is But A Dream… was their final album to be released through Warner Records, which they had previously left and rejoined amid legal disputes.
In 2021, the band stared Deathbats Club — an NFT-based fanclub that rewards members with real-world merch discounts and opportunities for meet and greets. More recently, they launched Season Pass, a Fortnite-style progression system that lets fans earn points and unlock rewards.
In a new cover feature with Kerrang!, Sanders says, “We’re one of those bands who [have] actually survived releasing eight records for a major record label, and so we’ve seen a lot. And we’ve seen the numbers, and we’ve seen the ways that corporations pretty much control art.”
He adds, “It’s an interesting, weird sort of dynamic, but you’re going to get people involved who… make money off the back of art. And one of the things that happens is that the artists say, ‘Leave me alone, I want to create.’ And that’s fair enough. I get that. But my own brain works a little differently.
“I like getting into the technology and the weeds of the contracts that we sign. I like seeing the deals and I like seeing how much somebody is making off me or our band – where it’s fair and where it’s a little egregious.”
He goes on to explain, “Now what they [labels] do is they go to TikTok and they take someone who’s already gone viral [on social media], but who doesn’t have a label and they wrap ’em up into a shitty deal, but they can’t do anything for them.
“When Avenged Sevenfold were on Warner Bros., they were trying to figure out how to create a viral TikTok moment. What? I’m a fucking 42-year-old man, I’m not trying to figure out how to do a viral TikTok moment. I’m sorry. You’re going to take 24 cents on our dollar and that’s all you can do, come up with a fucking fake viral TikTok moment?”
Avenged Sevenfold will headline at Download Festival on 16 June. View all of their upcoming tour dates.
