"Traditionally the show must go on which is a stupid thing to say, but that in a nutshell is what's going on. We have a new record out; if we won't tour, the new record dies. It's reality - it's what business is nowadays. You just need to tour to sell your albums"
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“Traditionally the show must go on” is one of those cultural slogans that pretends to be brave while mostly being convenient. Kerry King punctures it with a blunt, almost bored profanity: calling it “stupid” isn’t anti-professionalism, it’s anti-myth. The phrase was born to romanticize endurance; King drags it back to the loading dock where the real motive lives: rent, payroll, and the algorithmic churn of attention.
The telling move is how quickly he shifts from the language of duty (“must go on”) to the language of mortality (“the new record dies”). That’s not metaphor for artistic failure; it’s an economic diagnosis. In the era he’s describing, an album isn’t a finished statement that finds its audience over time. It’s a perishable product that needs a touring cycle to stay visible. Tour dates become the marketing budget, the distribution channel, and the proof-of-life signal to fans and platforms.
King’s intent is pragmatic, even defensive: he’s answering the implied critique that touring is optional, indulgent, or purely about ego. The subtext is darker: musicians are trapped by a business model that extracts maximum labor from bodies and calendars. When he says “It’s reality,” he’s not celebrating hustle culture; he’s acknowledging leverage. The show doesn’t go on because art is sacred. It goes on because if it stops, the whole machine forgets you exist.
The telling move is how quickly he shifts from the language of duty (“must go on”) to the language of mortality (“the new record dies”). That’s not metaphor for artistic failure; it’s an economic diagnosis. In the era he’s describing, an album isn’t a finished statement that finds its audience over time. It’s a perishable product that needs a touring cycle to stay visible. Tour dates become the marketing budget, the distribution channel, and the proof-of-life signal to fans and platforms.
King’s intent is pragmatic, even defensive: he’s answering the implied critique that touring is optional, indulgent, or purely about ego. The subtext is darker: musicians are trapped by a business model that extracts maximum labor from bodies and calendars. When he says “It’s reality,” he’s not celebrating hustle culture; he’s acknowledging leverage. The show doesn’t go on because art is sacred. It goes on because if it stops, the whole machine forgets you exist.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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