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Originally Posted by WildHearted
Actually, unless she and Dave Stewart made an agreement about her getting more royalties than he does, then they would have an equal 50/50 share. Given how much she adores him, and the fact that she gave him sole music credit on the songs he worked on, I'd be surprised if they didn't get half-and-half.. And all of Stevie's various studio musicians have to get paid, too. So yeah, she has to split the "recording artist" royalties with FM, but but those recording artist royalties aren't much anyway - that's why Mick and John make most of their money from touring, since they aren't bringing in songwriting royalties like Stevie and Lindsey.
These are all logistics that we could speculate on for days. She could potentially even out and make the same on her solo records, depending on the specifics of her deal & how much it they put into the albums initially. It's possible, but the thing is, you're gonna support an album with a tour, and there's no doubt that she makes MUCH more touring with FM than solo, so in the end, FM = more lucrative. I'm not disagreeing... Of course it's easier to make a solo album, and that was the whole idea - she WANTS to make solo records, not FM records.
The point remains, regardless of whether she's making an FM album or a solo album, either way it's not going to sell a whole lot. Saying that's why she doesn't record new FM music while she goes and records solo stuff is still BS. She could say "I make more money on my solo records nowadays than I do with FM records" and that might be okay. She could definitely say "FM stresses me out and I have a much more enjoyable time working on my own." But saying "No one buys records any more so we aren't going to record a New FM album ~prances off with Dave Stewart~" is hypocritical.
Like I said, I want Stevie to be happy. I get it. But the excuse is ridiculous.
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Yes, Dave will get half of the songwriting royalties, but he won't get half of the album royalties. Mick and John make most of their money from tours, but they still make a decent amount from album royalties. All the recording artist royalties for Fleetwood Mac are divided among Stevie, Lindsey, Mick and John according to some negotiated percentage for each member. However, all the recording artist royalties for a Stevie solo album get to Stevie herself. So she not only gets her 50%-100% writing credit for her songs, but she also gets a percentage of album sales just for being "Stevie Nicks", and that percentage is much more than the percentage she gets for being 1/4 of "Fleetwood Mac." Studio musicians get paid for their work in the studio, but unlike the signed artist, they don't continue to get paid for album sales.
I don't disagree with you on the fact that she doesn't want to record with Fleetwood Mac. If she wanted to, she would do it. However, I think if it was guaranteed that the next Mac album would sell 5 million records, she'd be there in a heartbeat regardless of whether or not she really wanted to. She has made it pretty clear she doesn't like recording with Fleetwood Mac anymore and that she doesn't want to tie herself down to them for three years, but I think sales numbers would be a very decisive factor. We all know Tusk, Mirage, and Tango weren't the most lovely of times for them, but the sales were there and so was Stevie. I just don't see how it is hypocritical to make a solo album but not make one with FM because people "don't buy records." From the outside it may seem as so, but the fact of the matter is that not as many people are expected to buy her solo records, so when a FM album only sells 30% more than a solo album but it costs a lot more to make, takes more time, and comes with all the politics, there is no incentive for her to do it. Lastly, I love the idea that she would saunter off to go record a new album with Dave after the Mac tour, but nobody knows if she will. She stopped recording solo albums for a while because "nobody buys records" until she eventually decided to do IYD. Thing about it is, even after IYD she is still saying "nobody buys records" so who knows? Stevie Nicks may never record another album again for that very reason.