Could Jason Newsted live off of 'Black Album' royalties?

Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted was recently asked by Metal Injection if he’d be able to live off royalties from The Black Album for the rest of his life. The musician responded by highlighting the enduring popularity of Metallica’s self-titled 1991 set:

“[T]he sales of the record is something that’s never been seen before, it’s this thing that won’t go away, and everything we couldn’t ever have predicted, so that’s plain and simple, that’s information for anybody to know or find.”

Elaborating as to whether he could survive from Black Album royalties alone, Newsted told the site that he was already well taken care of by Metallica’s camp prior to The Black Album‘s release, upon his joining the band as a member in 1987:

“But early on, when I joined the band in ’86 and they were already headed up by some very together people. Some very together team of management and other people that handled their business. From day one, even when I was just a hired gun before I started getting a cut—it took five and a half months before I started getting a full cut. So the first five and a half months, I was just a session guy. So by April of ’87, which was… yeah, check THAT shit out. Thirty years ago this month, I joined as a full member taking a full cut.”

So it appears Newstead not hurting? He even says he helps others with the proceeds he gets from The Black Album‘s ongoing sales. For  perspective, the 16x multi-platinum Black Album reportedly still sells between 2,000-5,000 copies a week.

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