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[Photo by: Jeff Forney]

Avenged Sevenfold's Synyster Gates talks band's main source of income

Well, it appears that not even Avenged Sevenfold can just make all of their money through record sales.

Read more: Marilyn Manson tells fan to take Avenged Sevenfold shirt off onstage

In a new interview with WSOU 89.5 FM, the band’s guitarist Synyster Gates talked about the band’s current run with the Call Of Duty video games, streaming services and touring.

Talking about how streaming services and records are different between genres, the host then proceeded to ask him whether or not the band rely on touring for their main source of income.

Gates’ answer may or may not come as a surprise to most: they do.

“[Concerts are] 99.9 percent of it for us,” Gates says. “Fortunately, you can’t download a shirt or live experience. I’m sure that will happen soon. Until it does, we still have a job and we enjoy those things. We’re very lucky to be able to play big, successful shows and we don’t take it for granted and we appreciate the fans for that.”

He continues on to say:

“I just think that rock music doesn’t stream as much, so I think hip-hop and pop is a lot more lucrative for streaming services. I personally don’t hate on them for doing smart business. It hasn’t really affected us. Obviously, we could make more money off of streams than other platforms, but it’s our job to write great music that hopefully brings a broader audience to those platforms. I think it will turn around. I really do.”

While he doesn’t believe that numbers play a huge role in why their band isn’t making money off of their music sales, he believes that it could be the demographic of those listeners who aren’t savvy to streaming services.

“I don’t think it’s a numbers issue — it’s just a demographic. Fortunately for us, our audience still buys CDs and [gets music on] iTunes. They’re kind of newcomers to the monthly subscription-based streaming platforms. I think once those things turn around and become ubiquitous in all cultures, you’ll see those things turn around and it will be more profitable for younger artists. We’re happy, we’re good, but the up-and-comer metal band definitely has it a lot tougher than we ever did.”

You can listen to the interview below:

The band recently re-released their track “Mad Hatter,” following backlash over the original mix.

The track, which is featured in the forthcoming game Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, dropped on Monday, Sept. 17—but fans were not happy with the way the original mix sounded. So, the band decided to re-release it.

The band announced they were working on “Mad Hatter” for the video game back in May, and slyly slipped a teaser of the track into their most recent tour recap.

In any case, the band has plans to release a four-song compilation EP that will include all of the songs released in connection to the Call of Duty franchise, including the new single.

What are your thoughts on Gates’ revelation? Are you surprised at how the band receives most of the income? Sound off in the comments below!