Mötley Crüe “strippers, booze, drugs” lyrics span generations, team says

Mötley Crüe is fresh off the announcement of a massive reunion tour. The tour features a bevy of rock legends including Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Their biopic The Dirt is still thriving. Their manager Allen Kovac says he thanks it all to Mötley Crüe buying their own masters.

Mötley Crüe acquired their own masters in the late 1990s for $10 million and established their own label Mötley Records.

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In a talk with Fox Business, Kovac claims that after The Dirt, they say a major shift in the age group of their fans from the 45-58 age range, all the way to 18-45 being the majority. Kovacs also says they saw streaming numbers increase by 350%.

So why does Kovac attribute all the newfound success to Mötley Crüe owning their own music? It allowed them to capitalize on what they thought would be successful and control their destiny. By being able to put their songs in television and film and other media, Mötley Crüe could appeal to a new generation, each generation.

“When you look at Motley Crue, they’re one of a unique set of artists that own their own masters,” Kovac says. “They decided they would agree with me as opposed to their lawyers and business managers and pay their former record label back $10 million of the $12 million they were owed so they can own their masters and use their masters with books, tickets and films to broaden their base globally. It takes courage to give up eight-figures. It takes courage to try new things.”

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Kovac’s goes on to state his disapproval with the sentiment that the record and music industry as a whole is dying.

“The most relevant statement is that global film, with a global internet and global streaming, is the future,” Kovacs says. “When I go to Amazon, I can see a Motley Crue book, I can see a Motley Crue documentary, I can see a Motley Crue live show, I can see the fact that they got a film, they got CDs out and they got streaming and they’re selling merchandise. So to me, managers and artists should move into 2020 and out of 1999, and so should record companies.

Mötley Crüe acquired the masters of their first seven albums after their split with Elektra Records in 1997. The price they paid for the success now might seem like chump change, but it was a very real risk with a lot of money.

Kovac’s goes on to compare the situation to that which Taylor Swift is currently dealing with.

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“Taylor Swift is very upset she doesn’t own her masters… Did she buy those masters? No. ‘I’m Taylor Swift and I deserve my masters,’ and the media is not really covering that,” Kovac’s states.

“She’s also selling a lot of music because she’s talking about a business deal. Her audience doesn’t want to hear about a very rich and successful artist upset that she doesn’t own her copyrights,” He continues. “That should have been a business transaction. Either her advisers gave her bad advice or she didn’t listen.”

Well, we can be very thankful now that Mötley Crüe purchased their previous masters. The success of The Dirt helped lead to the incredible Stadium Tour. Both will bring brought such an incredible band into a new generation.

“I think there’s going to be a whole new generation of kids who are going to bond with their fathers over songs about strippers and booze and drugs for sure,” Kovac’s finishes.

Tell us what you think about this insightful business transaction and The Dirt in the comments below.

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