It’s not uncommon for bands to sign horrible record deals that literally leaves them penniless.
Sometimes this happens because the musicians don’t read the contract or
worse they are so desperate for a deal they’ll do anything even. That
best describes the situation the goo goo dolls found themselves in in the 90’s.
The Goo Goo Dolls
story dates back to the 1986 when they were founded in buffalo, new york..The
band started when bassist Robby Takac, who was a young disc jockey, met a plumbing trainee Rzeznik
and drummer George Tutuska. The group’s early albums saw them incorporate pop, metal and punk
into their sound .The band’s first record deal they would sign would be with Metal Blade records,
which mostly housed heavy metal bands including slayer, Gwar and king diamond.
The band signed with them in 1987 and it proved to be a double edged sword. As part of the
band’s deal with Metal Blade, the bands albums would be distributed through Warner Brothers
including the band’s breakthrough record 1995’s a boy named goo which would go on to sell 2 million
copies on the strength of the single name. Despite the band’s commercial success they
barely saw any money from their CD sales. Reznick would tell the LA Times in 1998 “It
was our fault,”“I don’t blame anyone but myself for the stupid things I did when I was a kid.
We didn’t give a damn about any of that stuff at the time. We just wanted to make records.
I mean, record companies sell you a dream, but sometimes that dream can be pretty expensive.”
Each band member would only receive $6,000 from their label but that was it.
In order to keep themselves afloat the band had to tour relentlessly for nearly 18 months
and live off ticket and merch sales. That tour saw the band playing alongside Bush and No Doubt.
Side note guys i ve done a whole video on the history of bush the link the link is down below.
But the band didn’t enjoy themselves on the tour with Robby Takac telling an interviewer
that being on the tour was and i quote "having a dentist enter through your ass to pull your
wisdom teeth out." Despite having a hit record and playing with some well known acts on the road,
the band members were still stuck in the same tax bracket. Takac would tell an interviewer
"I thought about carving 'Slave' into my face, but it didn't work," alluding
Prince's bizarre protest of his Warner Bros. contract several years back.
The extensive touring had a detrimental effect against guitarist and vocalist johnny rizeznick
who suffered from writers block when it came time to write their sixth record. Reznick would look
back at the difficulty of spending nearly two years on the road telling the LA Times “Being
out on the road that long screws your head,” “It’s like living on a land submarine. You
wake up and it’s Thanksgiving morning, and you go, ‘Where the hell am I?’ For a long
time after the tour, I just felt stupid.” Reznick enlisted the help of producer Rob
Cavallo and a writer named Jill Cooper to help him beat his writer’s block.
Cooper was well versed in the relationship between music and psychology. In November of
1996 the band would file a lawsuit against their label Metal Blade, wanting out of their contract.
The lawsuit would claim and that metal blade made millions off them
and signed the band to and i quote a "grossly unfair, one-sided and unenforceable contract."
on top of that The Goo Goo Dolls gave a legal notice to Metal Blade claiming they would no
longer record for the label and that they would enter discussions with other labels.
Things got more complicated when Warner Brothers, the label’s distributor turned around and sued
the goo goo dolls claiming the band was talking to other labels while still under contract.
Goo Goo Dolls lawsuit would claim that the band was receiving a royalty rate of 8% of
the suggested retail price of a CD. The average royalty rate for an artist at the time was 30%.
The Buffalo news would report that after accounting for expenses including producer
royalties and other related costs the band made 25 cents for every $13
CD that was sold. The band’s lawsuit contended that their label metalblade was and i quote
"no different than a common bootlegger." Johnny Rzeznick would comment on the lawsuit
to the buffalo news at the time revealing "It's a matter of principle," "I can't make any more music
for free.’ For their part metal blade records responded with their CEO Brian Slagel claiming
"Metal Blade has supported the Goo Goo Dolls for eight years," "We have lived up to all of our
contractual obligations. It's unfortunate the Goo Goo Dolls have a desire to litigate."
The ban’s legal woes would drag on for half a year before the parties went their separate ways
with Goo Goo Dolls winning their lawsuit and getting their freedom. They would sign a more
favourable deal with warner brothers. According to diffuser.fm the band was given a substantial
advance by warner brothers ahead of Dizzy up the girl coming out and it took the band years
to pay the label back despite the album being a massive hit. The band’s legal woes and money
issues didn’t end there. Both the group’s original drummer George Tutuska and his replacement Michael
Malinin would be involved with royalty and payment disputes with the band. (tay-kak)