Chris Martin recently sat down with Conan O’Brien, discussing Coldplay’s dynamics and how the act well-functioned while sharing the simple trick behind their major commercial success.
It’s no secret that the industry is filled with numerous stories of different successful acts struggling to keep it together and carry on, often disbanding or one bandmate walking away from all of it. Roger Waters’ infamous departure from Pink Floyd or the Beatles’ dissolution during the height of their popularity, for instance, is among the most popular stories.
So, it’s undoubtedly challenging to stay together in the industry, but against all the odds, Coldplay managed it just well. The act has been together for years, having no significant troubles, and continues producing hits. And if you might ask what’s the secret behind that, well, Chris just answered that for you.
He discussed how the act functioned, disclosing Coldplay was a democracy that carried on through teamwork and equal shares of royalties. Martin and his bandmates contributed all the creative process, expressing ideas and making decisions fairly. Equal payment was an important element while improving the music’s quality, as all the band members gave their best to the track.
Chris also discussed that they’d taken U2 and R.E.M. as models since the two rock icons paid each band member equally when it came to receiving royalty checks. The equal payment was a bonus through the well-functioning dynamics of Coldplay, motivating the act and strengthening their bonds.
Martin on what kept the band together:
“For whatever reason, we’ve all got our gifts in the world, and mine is I get sent songs, and I get a very clear idea of how we’re supposed to, where we’re supposed to go as a band, and I get sent ideas all the time for this and this and this. Phil does [that] too in a different way or more sort of where we should play or let’s release an album or something like that…
To counterbalance that, you have Will and Guy who, [and] we’re not talking about music, we’re just talking about how to band operates; they are more of the ‘naysayers’ in a good way to make sure that we don’t do all the stupid ideas, but they sort of pick what actually is good.
[It’s] the same with music, except that on all of our songs, I know this is a long-winded answer; all of our songs [are] like a production line mostly, which is that I get sent a sort of the skeleton of the song, the title, and everything, and I’ll present that… and then Johnny will layer up their stuff.
And it’s not finished until they’ve all either put in their parts or not to. We always split our publishing royalties whatever the song is because it allows people to choose what’s the best for the song because they’re gonna get paid either way. [They] may say, his doesn’t need drums on it, but I’ll still get paid for drumming, so I don’t need to put drums on it.
U2 and R.E.M. were the two we looked up to in terms of how you keep the band together by sharing credit and money, and that’s really proved to be true.”
When it comes to the secret mastermind behind Coldplay’s success, it’s all about receiving equal paychecks and credits. Martin disclosed they had taken a lesson from U2 and R.E.M. books, modeling the two acts. This dynamic made each band member fixate on making good music rather than making unnecessary contributions to get paid.
