Former Bon Jovi manager Doc McGhee recently shared his perspective on how classic rock bands would fare in today’s music industry. His comments came during a Q&A session at the Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Las Vegas event this past weekend, as reported by Ultimate Classic Rock.
McGhee contrasted the prospects of two iconic bands, suggesting that the streaming era would have fundamentally altered their trajectories. He explained his reasoning by highlighting the dramatic shift in how the music industry operates today compared to the 1980s.
“I think Motley Crue would have happened because of how infectious that was, and how kids connected,” McGhee said. “I don’t believe Bon Jovi would have made it (today), because it took too long for us to get to [the band’s 1986 commercial breakthrough and third album] Slippery When Wet.”
McGhee’s assessment reflects a broader reality about how the modern streaming landscape differs fundamentally from the era in which both bands achieved their breakthrough success. The shift from album deals to single deals has compressed the timeline for artist development, as noted by 965 The Fox FM. This compression makes it nearly impossible for bands to build momentum gradually, as Bon Jovi did across multiple album releases before achieving massive commercial success.
The scale of content flooding streaming platforms today presents an unprecedented challenge for emerging artists. McGhee pointed to the overwhelming volume of music being released daily as a critical barrier to discovery and success.
“Now today, we don’t have three album deals. We have one single deal. We have 187,000 songs that go to Spotify every day. That’s crazy. And they think that in the next year or two there will be over 300,000 songs (per day),” he said.
This saturation fundamentally changes how artists can build careers and gain visibility, as detailed by Ultimate Classic Rock. McGhee drew a comparison between the old music industry ecosystem and the current landscape. He suggested that corporate consolidation has fundamentally damaged the environment for artists.
“We used to have an ecosystem that allowed everybody to live, like a reef. The managers could only do so much and eat so many of the fish, and the publishers could only eat so many of the fish… but we kept the reef alive. And now the corporate world has come in here and killed the reef,” McGhee explained.
McGhee’s “reef” metaphor illustrates how the industry once maintained a balanced ecosystem where artists, managers, and publishers could all sustain themselves, as noted by 965 The Walleye. The shift to corporate dominance and technology-driven distribution has disrupted this balance. An environment now exists where financial viability for new artists has become increasingly difficult.
He warned that this shift could result in the loss of generational talent. Aspiring musicians may abandon their careers due to financial pressures and market saturation.
“So the new kids that come in will say I can’t make money touring, it’s too expensive. I can’t get on Spotify I can’t get on anything, because there’s too much clutter, too much information out there. So what we’re going to do is lose the next Bob Dylan, the next Motley Crues, the next AC/DCs, the next Led Zeppelins, because they’re going to say ‘I can’t make money doing this, so I gotta go work for my Dad,'” McGhee said.
Despite his concerns about the industry’s future, McGhee expressed cautious optimism about emerging artists who possess a genuine connection with audiences. He highlighted one artist as a potential exception to the trend.
“The one I’m hoping for, I don’t know him, I have nothing to do with him, is Yungblud. I think he has that connection piece to people,” he concluded.
