Mick Jagger: sixties record labels didn't pay anyone

By Shane Richmond Media Last updated: May 15th, 2010

Mick Jagger has an interesting take on whether the internet has meant that artists no longer get paid for their music:

“… it is a massive change and it does alter the fact that people don’t make as much money out of records. But I have a take on that – people only made money out of records for a very, very small time. When The Rolling Stones started out, we didn’t make any money out of records because record companies wouldn’t pay you! They didn’t pay anyone! Then, there was a small period from 1970 to 1997, where people did get paid, and they got paid very handsomely and everyone made money. But now that period has gone. So if you look at the history of recorded music from 1900 to now, there was a 25 year period where artists did very well, but the rest of the time they didn’t.”

Jagger still doesn’t control the music he made in the 60s because of a dispute with former manager Allen Klein. The Stones have previously gone to court to try to get Universal, which owns their former label Decca, to open its books so that they could establish whether they were paid all the royalties owing to them. It seems Jagger still believes that he was short-changed.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/shanerichmond/100005149/mick-jagger-sixt...