“They never look back,” she asserts. “OK, Blue & Lonesome is a twist on the past, but the point is that it’s not just some sort of nostalgic, ‘Let’s revisit our past,’ it’s always, ‘Let’s look at what we had and take it forward in a slightly different way.’ It is well documented that album grew out of the start of new studio music and them playing the blues to get into practice and thinking, ‘These are fantastic songs, why don’t we record some of these?’” Last week saw the release of the Stones-curated Confessin’ The Blues compilation via BMG, with 10% of the label’s net receipts from the sale of the album to be donated to Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation. “It’s important to acknowledge those original blues artists and Confessin’ The Blues will, if you like, repay those chaps who perhaps weren’t so fortunate financially. It is curated by the Stones, with artwork by Ronnie Wood, so it really is all hands to the mill. Blue & Lonesome was a terrific success and let’s hope there are many more – and I’m sure there will be more.”
The two-legged No Filter tour, meanwhile, has grossed $237.8 million (£181.8m) overall and was third in Pollstar’s mid-year rankings, having generated $100.8m (£77m) from just 12 shows in the first half of 2018.
Running alongside The Stones record and touring businesses is one of music’s most lucrative merchandising empires. Bravado, the global music merch division of Universal Music Group, has an exclusive deal with the band and was the official merchandise partner for The Rolling Stones Exhibitionism store at London’s Saatchi Gallery in 2016. But while maximising potential revenue opportunities is always on the agenda, keeping the band’s soul remains of paramount importance. “That’s always quite a delicate balance because I don’t think you want to look like you’ve sold out, of course you don’t, and I don’t think they ever will because they’re very, very conscious of their heritage,” suggests Smyth. “They didn’t suddenly come from nowhere to be rewarded with this amazing success; it’s come the hard way. They’ve been at the top of the game for many years and they are conscious that you don’t want to do anything that trashes the brand. “I get asked whether they’d like to do all sorts of things and often there’s a lot of money on the table, but you don’t want to do things purely for money when you’re at the level they are.”
36 | Music Week 12.11.18
musicweek.com
Hot rocks: Smyth with Stones collaborators (L-R) Karl Denson, Darryl Jones, Sasha Allen, Tim Ries, Matt Clifford, Chuck Leavell and Bernard Fowler
“Don’t give up even if the path seems to be taking you to the cliff edge. You’ll get there, just keep plugging away”
JOYCE SMYTH GLASTRY
Rolling with it: (L-R) Publicist Bernard Doherty of LD Communications, Joyce Smyth and creative director Patrick Woodroffe
And Smyth sees her work as far from complete. “I’d like to keep going, doing more of the same and trying to get better at what I do,” she says. “It would be nice to look at helping a younger act. It’s very hard to get started in this business as an artist and if one can give a bit of pro bono time and give some help, you should. If you’ve been very fortunate yourself then you should try and give a bit of your time to help those who maybe are just needing a little bit of direction about how to get into this business.” Smyth offers a few words of wisdom for those hoping to follow in her footsteps.
“I’ve used this line once before but I stand by it – don’t try and be the artist’s friend,” she stresses. “Stay objective, but keep a sense of humour. Work hard, but don’t take yourself too seriously and put the artist first at all times. That sounds very obvious but it can be difficult because you’re going down various paths and people are throwing all sorts of things at you but just remember, it’s their interests and that’s the only thing that matters. “And as for women – don’t give up. Don’t give up even if the path seems to be taking you to the cliff edge and back in and round the bushes again. You’ll get there, just keep plugging away.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
