Interview with Fat Mike of NOFX

Phone Interview

November 14, 2003

 

Leah Weinberg: In general, what's your view on illegal downloading and file-sharing?
Fat Mike: Just before we start, my view on it is different than most label owners, so you should take the note of that. It's not the model paradigm of record label owners. My view on downloading is: bummer. Bummer for me.

L.W.: How have you seen it directly affect you?
Mike: Our record sales have declined drastically over the past four years. But I don't think it's downloading as much as it is CD burning. That's what people don't really pay attention to. People want the quality of a CD–it's better than MP3–and they want the art, too, but you know, you used to tape people's records, tape your friends' records on a cassette, but that took an hour. Burning a CD is an exact duplicate and it takes a minute. That's the real problem.

L.W.: Have you seen it hurt the sales of NoFx also?
Mike: Sure. Our back catalog sales drop 25-30% every year, and they always used to be the same. They always used to be solid. L.W.: Would you agree that the kids who are downloading aren't true fans? Mike: To some extent. But you know, when I was a kid, a new Misfits record would come out, and I would buy it and my four friends would tape it. New Agnostic Front would come out, so my friend would buy it [and] we would all tape it. We were huge punk fans, but we didn't all go buy the record.

L.W.: Do you think there are some bands that file-sharing helps?
Mike: I'm sure it helps someone.

L.W.: Do you think a majority of bands are opposed to downloading or do you think it's an even split?
Mike: They're all opposed to it, but they don't all say that because they don't want to sound lame.

L.W.: What do you think of the RIAA?
Mike: I don't think much of them. I'm not apart of them. And I don't really think they should take these people to court.

L.W.: So you think that's the wrong way to go about it?
Mike: Absolutely. I think people in the music industry just have to realize it's over. Party's over.

L.W.: Do you think that the lawsuits are making the industry look bad?
Mike: For sure. But they got to do something, they feel. But it's all futile.

L.W.: So you don't think there is any solution to this?
Mike: Right. This is what's gonna happen: Great bands are gonna do fine and mediocre bands are gonna die. And that's just how it is and how it should be really. There's too much music out there anyway.

L.W.: Do you think the bands on Fat are gonna survive?
Mike: I think they'll survive, but a lot of bands are selling less records. And a lot of bands that haven't had jobs in 10 years are starting to have to get jobs. So, it's sad. But, you know, no one's retiring off this anyway.

L.W.: How effective do you think pay services like I-Tunes and the new Napster are?
Mike: iTunes seems to be doing pretty well, but it's not gonna help anything. It's people who did go to the store to buy the CD, they just decided to download it. It's not people who are getting it for free. Because the people who download for free are still gonna download for free. So all it is, it's like a new record store. It's not gonna help anything. That's how it seems to me.

L.W.: How long do you think it's going to be before we see a lot of bands dropping off, affected by this?
Mike: I think we already are. It's just gonna get worse every year. I mean the major labels are dropping like flies and so are record chains.

L.W.: Do you think that artists are losing some incentive to create music when they see it being stolen like this?
Mike: No, not at all. If you're making music just to sell records, you shouldn't be in this business.

L.W.: What philosophy do you take with running your label?
Mike: Never screw anyone over.

L.W.: So, the music come before the money?
Mike: Well sure, but money's apart of it. When we first started, I only signed bands that I really liked. And now I sign bands that sometimes, I like, I haven't signed anyone I don't like, but now I might sign a band for other reasons than just really liking them.

L.W.: A lot of people say the reason why the music industry is so bad off right now is because of the lack of good music available. Do you think that's true?
Mike: No. We have a couple bands that we signed in the past couple of years that I think are really good, because I think Fat Wreck Chords had a lot of slow years. We put out a lot of mediocre records. But recently, I'm really into Anti-flag and Against Me! are great. And new Rise Against is really good, too.
L.W.: Didn't they sign to a major?
Mike: They signed with Dreamworks, but then a month later, Dreamworks went under, so they don't really know what they're doing. I told them that I'll put out their records. I like their band. I like them as people, too.

L.W.: Along those lines, a lot of major labels are signing a lot of punk bands right now, do you think those bands are going to get dropped pretty fast because they're not going to be able to sell?
Mike: Right. Exactly. And that's why Fat Wreck Chords will do okay, because we're going to pick up the litter.

L.W.: Well those are all of the questions that I have, is there anything else you would like to add?
Mike: So, what's your thesis then?
L.W.: That downloading is killing the music industry and people need to stop before there's nothing left.
Mike: Right. Good. That's a good thesis. I agree with it completely. But the thing is, it's just gonna bring music back to where it was in the 70's, where there are few bands and they're better. Really, because people only buy records of bands they really like. I mean, it's really bad for me and my business, but I think it's fine, it's just a revolution. It's going back to where it started and I think that's fine.

Related Links:
Official Website
Punk Voter
Fat Wreck Chords