Eddie has a huge presence in Maiden’s iconography. What role does Ed have in Maiden’s history? RS: He is the essence of Maiden. Going back to when he was formed, then it was a matter of these five very young guys from the East End, who weren’t a Lemmy. Also, they never went into it for fame, they went into it for the music. So I had an idea to try and create something that represented them so that hopefully in the future – because I always believed the band would be very successful – when they walked down Oxford Street they wouldn’t get recognised. He’s fantastic fun. I’ve seen or been involved in thousands upon thousands of different Eddie things and I still get a kick when I see him.
In terms of metal as a whole, where do you see the genre fitting into the current music industry in 2017? RS: Ask Shacky, I’m the wrong person to ask. I really don’t care about pop or fashion. We have never worried about what is contemporary. I hate fashion. We don’t think that way. Things come and things go, both inside and outside of metal. But we don’t think about it. We do try to keep abreast of new developments, because it would be silly not to use them. Some we use, some we don’t – it depends if it fits our ethos or not.
What areas of the business currently excite you? DS: “I don’t think any of us really fully understand what streaming can bring. Certainly not sat as a
HEAVY(WEIGHT VINYL) METAL
Maiden’s next set of vinyl reissues is underway. Delphine Nizet, production manager at Phantom, explains the hard work involved…
band, I don’t think we’re seeing the full fruits of our labour in that area. We’ve embraced it, we’ve been able to find great opportunities there. We just want as many people as possible to hear what we’re doing. Now, does that make you a fan in my book? No, it doesn’t. I’ve always been about participation, I’ve always judged it that if you spend some money you become a fan – to me that’s either downloading a track, buying an album, a T-shirt, a ticket – that to me is a designation.
But wouldn’t a lot of people argue that’s not the case in the age of streaming? DS: I look at ‘ownership’ and that’s where streaming comes in. With track equivalents and everything else now we’re probably never going to have another No.1 album again. That’s highly bloody likely when, if we’re lucky, we have another studio album out. It won’t be judged on our fans buying it on release day, it’ll be benchmarked against songs streamed in their millions and assimilated into album units. It’s not a level playing field anymore.
“In a changing world, Iron Maiden are a fabulous, unchanging entity. It matters because we made it matter” DAVE SHACK, PHANTOM MANAGEMENT
Maiden have always worked outside of the mainstream – is that even a concern? DS: It’s only a concern if you’re judging it by old values. Personally, I am driven by how many No.1 albums we’ve had around the world. I know it’s an old school value, but to me there’s something in that. It’s a tangible thing, but being eroded.
What are the challenges in collating two decades’ worth of music?
It’s basically finding all the parts. The artwork takes a long time, because in places you may need to recreate it. For example, the ‘90s albums, we had to do a lot of research to recreate as much as we could because we found out that with the original parts either we didn’t have them anymore, or they weren’t usable any more. Or they hadn’t been archived properly. Companies change hands, things get moved to various places, and sometimes you don’t have a trace of them.
Were there any other big challenges involved? Another one is the sound. We’ve had to remaster some other albums, for example Death On The Road. Or even more recent things like En Vivo. Death On The Road has been the biggest challenge because we’ve had problems locating the parts, and when we did locate them they weren’t usable. It’s the same as the artwork, basically. You need to find parts that you can work from, and which have stood the test of time and evolving technology.
MUSIC Week
Maiden still thrive without the support of mainstream TV, radio and print media. Why do they endure? DS: They never had to rely on any of that stuff. It’s always been about that solid build upon build upon build of touring, making a decent record, identifying fans, being good to fans, breaking boundaries like going to Eastern Europe and Poland back in 1984 and also being one of the very first bands to fully develop South America as a viable market. Nothing’s really changed. We don’t make pop songs or videos and guess what? We’ve grown. There’s just something about these six individuals, their canon of work. In a changing world, Iron Maiden are a fabulous, unchanging entity. It matters because we made it matter. It’s not a gimmick, it’s not bollocks or fly by night, it’s solid, it’s historic, it’s powerful.
Dave, you’ve had a long career in music prior to this – what have you learned since joining Maiden? DS: I think it’s that the power lies with the artist. As a manager, representing an artist, that’s where I feel the decision-making power is. The other big learning – the biggest compliment – is that no one else manages a band in the way that Rod and
SLAYING AHEAD OF THE GAME
Llexi Leon, interactive creative director at Phantom, explains how Maiden are conquering the video game world…
When did Iron Maiden first venture into the gaming world?
Iron Maiden were trailblazing in this area. No music act had a video game back when they did [1999’s] Ed Hunter – it was really ahead of its time. Not only was a band having a game around their own IP and character forward thinking, but also the fact they gave it away for free with their greatest hits record. All games are free to play now – we think that’s normal. Back then, to give away a PC game was quite a big deal. There’s a lot of things about it that was really pioneering. I think they felt, Well, if we’re going to do something again, it’s got to be doing something really exciting, which I think Legacy Of The Beast has achieved.
What’s the crossover been from gaming fans to Maiden’s music?
As a by-product of that there are new listeners. Every time the game is featured by Apple, regardless of whether there’s any kind of music campaign going on, all of the catalogue sales go up digitally. Noticeably. I think when the game launched, it was a 500% increase. Something we’re looking at on the road map is how to create an education system in there so when you complete a level it tells you what you were listening to.
Andy manage Iron Maiden. There’s not another manager in the world I have ever seen who runs a band in this way. Rod will pull things out of the air you wouldn’t even think of, and you go, Damn! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s just second nature to him. It drives you mad, but it’s bloody impressive.
Rod, you’ve steered Maiden for so long, is there one guiding principle that’s seen you through? RS: I could spend the next week talking management principles but ultimately it’s instinctive. I am into metal, it is my music, that and hard rock. I am of our audience. At the end of the day you want the band to be able to make the music they want without tampering with it. And you do not get A&R in Maiden’s studio. We’ve always done our own artwork; we still do our own press releases. We initiate everything and insist on it being the case. In the long term, that allows the artist a lot of freedom. I think all artists would appreciate doing what they want to do without being told, That won’t get on the radio. We were told that many times. But you know… nearly a 100 million albums later, who gives a fuck?
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