Should Fleetwood Mac try a fan-funded album?

[seekerj]

Umm, I think I've already been funding their albums for years by buying about fifteen million concert tickets, multiple copies of albums, cassettes, cds, multiple sizes of the same concert T's, tourbooks, etc.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by trackaghost

Even though I'm a fan, I can't imagine the B52s ever got really rich from their record sales. Rock Lobster and Love Shack probably keep them pretty comfortable but I can't imagine they've ever been in a mansion-buying position.

As for the Mac, I think Stevie doesn't think it's worth it because it won't sell in the way she's used to. I personally think it's an ego thing more than a monetary thing (because honestly, they don't need the money). And yes I'm singling out Stevie because Lindsey and Mick have both released albums, for pure love of doing it, knowing they wouldn't be big sellers.
Creative differences comes into it too, they all probably feel too old to go through the stress, arguments and compromises that goes in to making a new album.

Oh, I am pretty sure the B52s made a killing from Cosmic Thing and "Love Shack," which was a monster hit. I know Fred Schneider has a decent apartment in New York and a modest house in the Hamptons (he leered at me in the locker room at Sag Harbor Gym recently... gross!! ), yet he doesn't seem to work all that frequently. So I would say he is most definitely independently wealthy, if not exactly living large in the Diddy sense. Kate Pierson owns a small hotel in upstate New York, so I would imagine the Cosmic Thing money had something to do with that.

What I don't understand about FM is why they don't just record at Lindsey's house. It won't cost a thing. There's a trailer out back where Mick could sleep and I would assume John and Stevie do not live too far away. Since they are not the type of band to enlist gazillions of guest musicians and vocalists, it's not like they need some kind of large setup. Let's face it- the reason why they don't record is because Stevie and Lindsey simply just won't work together unless they are making bank, and recording/releasing albums these days has become a zero-sum game. To this day I seriously doubt any of them saw a single penny in residuals from SYW.

[louielouie2000]

I have to wonder if they're able to secure a record deal which would suit their terms. After all, they always require HUGE advances so they can rent mansions/chateaus and such for extended times to record. The last time they recorded an album in under a year was 1975, too. I just imagine them trying to pitch their "needs" to a record company these days, and totally being scoffed at. I can't imagine that either Warners or FM really made much (if any) money from SYW... and the business has deteriorated in leaps and bounds since (and their record buying fans are dwindling yearly as well). I just don't think it makes economic sense for them to make another album. It'd have to be something they do for the love of the craft... something they haven't done in the past 30 years.

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I have to wonder if they're able to secure a record deal which would suit their terms. After all, they always require HUGE advances so they can rent mansions/chateaus and such for extended times to record. The last time they recorded an album in under a year was 1975, too. I just imagine them trying to pitch their "needs" to a record company these days, and totally being scoffed at. I can't imagine that either Warners or FM really made much (if any) money from SYW... and the business has deteriorated in leaps and bounds since (and their record buying fans are dwindling yearly as well). I just don't think it makes economic sense for them to make another album. It'd have to be something they do for the love of the craft... something they haven't done in the past 30 years.

If the love is gone, then there is no point to a new album. But don't they love me enough to go through it all?