TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER
Halcyon Way Sufferer
- Jan 7, 2002
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MATT BARLOW RETIRES FROM ICED EARTH
- Thread starter PurpleCrayonWriter
- Start date
Look, the guy has a full-time job as a Delaware cop. I am surprised he came back, never mind leaving again. Iced Earth is trying to make some money. They cannot do it with Matt chasing General Zod, AMBR, and every other attendee trying to get to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to shorten the trip to Atlanta while the band is touring. The reality is that Matt got religion and is going to make music a hobby, and be a cop for money.
This seems to be a growing trend in metal: Many top flight people are going to real jobs because you just cannot make a living in this scene anymore. Look at people like Khan, Vibeke Steen, and Ihsahn. Shit, even Marco Hietala is an Instructor at Sibelius Academy. They are all going away, with the rare exception of Marco, because they all have families to support. Even Coronatus' two frontwomen stated publicly that they left Coronatus because there was no money to be made. Look at Melissa Ferlaak? She has to play on essentially a local act because she makes a nice living as a Community Outreach director for a Minneapolis arts academy. As she said, "A girl needs to eat, you know."
As sad as it is for fans of IE, Barlow never really had a choice in the matter. He needs to feed his family. Cop>IE Frontman.
This seems to be a growing trend in metal: Many top flight people are going to real jobs because you just cannot make a living in this scene anymore. Look at people like Khan, Vibeke Steen, and Ihsahn. Shit, even Marco Hietala is an Instructor at Sibelius Academy. They are all going away, with the rare exception of Marco, because they all have families to support. Even Coronatus' two frontwomen stated publicly that they left Coronatus because there was no money to be made. Look at Melissa Ferlaak? She has to play on essentially a local act because she makes a nice living as a Community Outreach director for a Minneapolis arts academy. As she said, "A girl needs to eat, you know."
As sad as it is for fans of IE, Barlow never really had a choice in the matter. He needs to feed his family. Cop>IE Frontman.
While it is not easy to say goodbye to such an awesome vocalist, I understand and respect his decision. There are not enough dedicated fathers in this world and his family is lucky to have him. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors. I trust that Jon will do what is best for Iced Earth's future.
To those lunatics who say IE is dead: That's what they all said when Matt left the first time. But IE went on without him and produced two bad-ass albums. I personally did not like The Glorious Burden, but I thought Framing Armageddon was a masterpiece! It was nice to have one more album with Matt, but all good things must come to an end. He has a legitimate reason for his decision, and nobody has the right to judge him.
To those lunatics who say IE is dead: That's what they all said when Matt left the first time. But IE went on without him and produced two bad-ass albums. I personally did not like The Glorious Burden, but I thought Framing Armageddon was a masterpiece! It was nice to have one more album with Matt, but all good things must come to an end. He has a legitimate reason for his decision, and nobody has the right to judge him.
AeonicSlumber
srs
- Aug 14, 2008
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What the HELL are you talking about? Barlow would probably make more money in IE than being a Cop and it's an infinitely safer job too. Marco from Nightwish/Tarot probably makes more money than any metal musician ever short of of Metallica, In Flames, Maiden, etc.
I don't know how you can compare some no name band on Massacre Records to some of the biggest bands in metal, but please share that weed with me man, quit hoggin!
Jasonic
Doom On!
Diabolik
Member
Jasonic
Doom On!
skyrefuge
Member
Really? You think a non-writing singer for a band that has averaged something like 20 tour dates a year over the last decade can make more money than a full-time police officer? Heck, even if that income can magically match his yearly salary, the benefits and long-term security sure as hell can't!
Neil
Diabolik
Member
AeonicSlumber
srs
- Aug 14, 2008
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Yes, considering how much the band would have to get paid to do shows. Unless Jon takes all of the hundreds of thousands that the band grosses in from those gigs + merch, and I doubt Barlow would even be doing it if that was the case, I could imagine Barlow making about 60-80 grand yearly on IE as a rough estimate. If you also factor in mechanical and performance royalties, it's a decent living. I'm not sure how much a police officer makes in his state, but I'd wager being in IE means making about the same if not more, and certainly it's safer than being a full time cop.
As for health benefits, he was still employed as a cop so he'd get those too as well as whatever money he makes on duty when not touring with the band. Also, some bands establish themselves as LLCs and then get company health plans for the band. This is rare though.
And they did way more than 20 shows over the last decade man. Surely you, a rational, objective fact checker would not make such a blanket assumption.
edit whoops: reading is my friend herp.
Diabolik
Member
Aeonic....I hate to even do this but I have to back up Neil (see photo above). Read what he said....he said 20 shows a year for the last decade, not just 20 shows for the decade. Plus the only way he could me financially set is if they toured non stop. Just playing a few shows here and there will never make enough as a long running career with insurance and benefits.
Jasonic
Doom On!
Yeah, I see your edit, and see you misread, but I still had to LOL a bit.
I really really have no idea what a band member in Iced Earth nets a year. Not sure if it would be 60 to 80K though........ Lots of people have to get paid before the band sees THAT kind of money.
AeonicSlumber
srs
- Aug 14, 2008
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Aware, and noted that I made a goof in reading his post.
If the band gets paid 80-100,000 grand per festival (which is pretty much how much a top-slot band gets paid in europe unless you're nightwish and you can ask for hundreds of thousands per festival -- these fests run on multi million euro budgets) over 10 festivals and maybe 10-15 grand per club show over 20 club shows and Barlow gets maybe 30% of that money, that is a decent living.
AeonicSlumber
srs
- Aug 14, 2008
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holy crap, you REALLY cannot read can you man?
I feel like every post you make is misinterpreted, ill-read, and hasty. I feel like these habits are rubbing off on me now, hence me misinterpreting part of Neil's post.
Jasonic
Doom On!
skyrefuge
Member
Well done! It only takes about 10 seconds of Googling to find photos of me, so I was surprised it took you guys this long, but I guess that just means you're less-obsessed than I thought, which is a good thing. But c'mon, you couldn't have used the glamour shot that's my current profile pic? I'm inexplicably holding a beer in that one too, if that's what you were going for!
Neil
Diabolik
Member
We didnt know your last name or this would have come sooner. No we can put a name to a face.
Jasonic
Doom On!
Bob found it, not me.
I think he figured it out based on someone's friends list on FB.
To be honest, I seriosuly thought you were in your 40s or 50s!!!!
I think he figured it out based on someone's friends list on FB.
To be honest, I seriosuly thought you were in your 40s or 50s!!!!
skyrefuge
Member
I'll have to take your word for what bands are paid at Euro festivals, but I'll note that Iced Earth isn't really that close to the top of the bills of any of the fests it's doing this summer, except for Dong, which looks significantly smaller than ProgPowerUSA.
I don't really know any details of how Iced Earth finances are broken down, and even if I did, I wouldn't repeat them here. However, I can post some quotes from Jon Schaffer interviews that may be instructive. Note that these are from ~2002, so things certainly could have changed over the years:
"I've worked with Matt and coached him through every single thing. Matt doesn't have the kind of personality that he would have done this if it wouldn't have been with someone behind him....As far as that goes, everybody is replaceable including Matt and he knows that. Does that mean I'm going to fire him next week? No, as long as he does a good job and works hard and is dedicated while doing the right things, then he's in. We have a very good relationship, he feels fortunate to be here. He knows it wouldn't be if it weren't for me. It's become a vehicle that he can do things he enjoys to do. He's a performer not a songwriter."
"Everybody in ICED EARTH is on contract. Nobody is a member or a "percentage owner" of the company, it doesn't work like that. As long as these guys work hard and stay focused and do their parts, I don't ask much well, actually, I do ask a lot. I ask of 100% of all of them. Show up, do you parts, do your job, be reliable, and no drinking before the show, none of that kind of shit. Everything else is pretty cool. Then they have the vehicle to go out and play music in front of huge crowds and make money at something they always dreamed of doing. If they fuck up and cross that line to where it costs me money, causes headaches and problems, then we have problems. I think at this point though I've got a group of guys that have been around long enough that know this is a great opportunity for them."
"Well, I asked Larry to leave the band. There's not really a lot of space for lead guitarist in ICED EARTH, he doesn't really have a job to do. You know, solos is all that any lead guitarist in the band has ever done, and I record all other guitar parts.....I thought it would just be better for Larry, because with the involvement that he had, there's no guarantee for a good future for him in the band. So I said, 'Dude, it's better for you to just concentrate, go to school, get a career, forget about the music business.' He's just not made for it....Larry was a good guitarist, but creatively he didn't bring anything to the table. He did come up with a few cool solos, but that's it, and solos are not that important. You can't even copyright a guitar solo, it's not like you're gonna make a bunch of money playing guitar solos. You have to write songs."
Eh? He'd get benefits as a cop if he continued to be employed as a cop, which would preclude him from being employed by this new revved-up version of Iced Earth. It's not like he can just say "hey boss, I'm gonna tour 6 months of the year and then be a cop for 6 months of the year, that's alright with you, right?"
And it's not just health benefits, it's retirement benefits, and overall job security. Sure, the chances of being shot are probably higher for a police officer than heavy metal musician (though don't tell that to Dimebag, and you should check out the crime rates in little Georgetown, DE sometime), but it's still a "safer" job than one that could end any day when Jon decides to fire you or put Iced Earth to rest, and one that will almost certainly end before a normal retirement age.
Finally, maybe Manowar isn't the same as Iced Earth, but this is also instructive: http://www.themetalinquisition.com/2009/02/metal-inquisition-investigative-report_20.html
Neil
Jasonic
Doom On!
holy crap, you REALLY cannot read can you man?
Did you read my post beyond the smiley?????
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