That’s because there was no digital in 1979 when we signed it. When our record deal with Universal lapsed in 2009, there was no digital part of the deal. First of all, there are the legalities – the grown-up side. What took so long to get all your music on digital services? Music Ally spoke to Elliott about ending the war with Universal, where artists need to stand up for their rights, why they were not worried about missing out on the windfall of the iTunes era, why the days of backing acts for several albums until they break through are gone and how 1987’s Hysteria album (possibly) predicted the streaming age by being all about singles. The albums also went top 10 on iTunes in more than 30 countries, with the band holding the top three spots on the overall US catalogue albums chart to boot.
It’s still early days to call if this jump into streaming has been a success or not, but after less than a fortnight on Spotify, tracks like ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ (3.2m streams), ‘Animal’ (7.1m streams) and ‘Love Bites’ (10.5m streams) show they are off to a very strong start.
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However, he was full of praise for Rowe and his team in finally getting everyone across the line. Rock stars, however, do not have to be so diplomatic and Elliott laid the blame squarely at the door of Rowe’s predecessors in Universal’s catalogue division. But the positive approach from the legal team, the band themselves and the label has been immense and we are absolutely delighted to be there now.” “It has taken some time to make sure that all the commercial, legal and artistic aspirations are aligned that is not always easy to achieve. “It has taken four years of collaborative work – very close collaborative work – between us, the band and their team to get where we are today,” he said. When Music Ally spoke to David Rowe, co-MD of Universal Music Catalogue, just ahead of the catalogue going online, he was incredibly diplomatic and chose his words carefully. Their issue was with Universal, but the contractual deadlock was broken last year and the band set about remastering their entire catalogue for streaming. Other studio and live albums released on Def Leppard’s own label – Mirror Ball (2011), Viva! Hysteria (2013), Slang (2014) and Def Leppard (2015) – have long been on streaming services so the band is most assuredly not anti-streaming. The band did re-record three tracks themselves (‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’, ‘Rock Of Ages’ and ‘Hysteria’) to go on iTunes – but these were, Elliott says now, primarily tie-ins for a film that featured their music as well as a Las Vegas residency rather than a “bollocks punch” to Universal. We can either roll over like little dandelions or we can stand up and punch them in the bollocks. We built their penthouse sushi bar, wherever it may be, and they just treated us like shit. He added with aplomb, “Between us and Bon Jovi, we fucking built that company. And then some other twat at the label put a stop to it.” “Until we can come to some kind of humane conclusion to this ridiculous stand-off, we’re going to say: ‘Fuck you!’ We were offered a great deal two years ago and shook hands on it. “We’re trying to wrestle back our career and ownership of these songs,” he told Classic Rock in 2013. But there were other factors – notably a very public war of words with Universal Music over the handling and licensing of their catalogue, including the mega-selling Pyromania and Hysteria albums.Įlliott rarely held back in interviews over the past decade when asked why Def Leppard were digital holdouts.
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This, according to lead singer Joe Elliott, was one major factor behind the band not putting their entire catalogue on streaming or download services until earlier this month. When you have sold over 100m albums and shift more tickets today than you did in your supposed peak in the 1980s – as Def Leppard are – you are “not exactly hurting” for money and can therefore afford to take your time when considering the leap into new, digital revenue streams. Tags: def leppard digital royalties Spotify Universal Music
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