Creativity Quote by Neal Schon

There is something almost disarmingly blunt about Neal Schon putting the economics of rock stardom in the language of lunch money. Not art, not legacy, not even “the fans” - just the arithmetic of a CD sold for “close to $10” and the reality that, after the machine takes its cuts, five bandmates are left dividing scraps. The line punctures the old mythology that platinum plaques automatically mean private jets. It replaces glamour with a spreadsheet.

The intent feels defensive but strategic: to justify a price point at a moment when audiences were starting to side-eye what CDs cost and where the money went. “Fair amount” is doing a lot of work here. He’s not only arguing for the consumer-facing number; he’s arguing for the band’s right to capture value in an industry where labels, distributors, retailers, and promoters historically ate first. By emphasizing “five guys,” he frames Journey less as a brand and more as a small business with payroll realities.

The subtext is a quiet grievance: even the lucky ones are constrained by the system. “Like two bucks a record” carries the sting of being both famous and financially diluted - the paradox of mass cultural reach paired with surprisingly thin margins per unit. In the late-CD era, right before digital collapse turned the whole model inside out, this kind of candid math became its own form of authenticity: proof that the artist isn’t the villain in the pricing story, just another worker negotiating leverage in a rigged marketplace.