Legendary British rockers Iron Maiden have appealed to their worldwide legion of fans for ideas on how to make more money from their extensive back-catalogue.
The heavy metal band, who recorded such hits as "The Number of the Beast" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", are about to re-release their albums for the third time, but due to "unforeseen circumstances" their management staff have advised them to look into alternative ways to fill their coffers.
"[Manager] Rod Smallwood was really surprised that the kids bought the first two re-releases of the albums, so he figured that they'd buy them again," bassist and founder Steve Harris said. "He's a bit sceptical about trying it again in twelve months time, though, so we're trying to figure out what the fans would be prepared to fork out their hard-earned for next time around."
With action figures of the band's mascot, Eddie, available, as well as a plastic head of the aforementioned zombie which holds the second rerelease of the albums, complete with flashing lights, the band are hoping to release even more exciting goodies for their fans to purchase.
"We figure that as long as they have the money to burn, and as long as they're interested in the band, that we'll still have a tidy income over the next few years at the very least," vocalist Bruce Dickinson said. "We just have to figure out ways to exploit that market. Dave [Murray, guitarist] suggested an Eddie bubblebath, and Nicko [McBrain, drummer] thinks that an album with Maiden performing alongside popular stars of today like Craig David and Enrique Iglesias would be the way to go."
"I like Janick's [guitarist Janick Gers] idea the best, though," said Harris. "We just sell a home video of us walking around scratching ourselves and pointing at things. We know that our fans will buy anything we sell them, but it's just a matter of staying fresh... and who's fresher than Maiden?"
The heavy metal band, who recorded such hits as "The Number of the Beast" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", are about to re-release their albums for the third time, but due to "unforeseen circumstances" their management staff have advised them to look into alternative ways to fill their coffers.
"[Manager] Rod Smallwood was really surprised that the kids bought the first two re-releases of the albums, so he figured that they'd buy them again," bassist and founder Steve Harris said. "He's a bit sceptical about trying it again in twelve months time, though, so we're trying to figure out what the fans would be prepared to fork out their hard-earned for next time around."
With action figures of the band's mascot, Eddie, available, as well as a plastic head of the aforementioned zombie which holds the second rerelease of the albums, complete with flashing lights, the band are hoping to release even more exciting goodies for their fans to purchase.
"We figure that as long as they have the money to burn, and as long as they're interested in the band, that we'll still have a tidy income over the next few years at the very least," vocalist Bruce Dickinson said. "We just have to figure out ways to exploit that market. Dave [Murray, guitarist] suggested an Eddie bubblebath, and Nicko [McBrain, drummer] thinks that an album with Maiden performing alongside popular stars of today like Craig David and Enrique Iglesias would be the way to go."
"I like Janick's [guitarist Janick Gers] idea the best, though," said Harris. "We just sell a home video of us walking around scratching ourselves and pointing at things. We know that our fans will buy anything we sell them, but it's just a matter of staying fresh... and who's fresher than Maiden?"
