Selling music catalogs has become increasingly common among musicians. In a recent interview with Ernest Skinner of Canada’s Border City Rock Talk, Jeff Pilson, the ex-bassist for Dokken and current bassist for Foreigner, shared his perspective, arguing his music has less value than Neil Young’s.
While names like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan made headlines for their lucrative deals, Pilson has a different stance on the matter. During the conversation, Pilson revealed that despite being approached to sell his publishing rights, he has no desire to part ways with his catalog:
“I’ve been approached. I have no desire to do that, to be honest with you — at least not now. Maybe someday. Who knows? But I’m not ready to retire yet. And I like having that publishing income. It’s very nice. So I have no intention of selling it.”
Then, Pilson added he sees the financial gap between his potential earnings from such a sale and those of his more famous contemporaries:
“I’m not gonna get Neil Young kind of money anyways. But, yeah, there’s been offers before for buying publishing and I’m not interested in selling right now.”
You can watch the interview below.
Foreigner isn’t Retiring
In another interview that took place this month, Pilson also touched upon the future of Foreigner, clarifying that the band’s ongoing farewell tour does not mean an end to their musical career but rather a transition from exhaustive touring to focusing on unfinished projects and selective performances:
“This is year two of the farewell tour, yes. And it doesn’t mean we’re going away. It just means this is the end of the nine-months-on-the-road kind of touring. So that’s why it’s a farewell tour. I mean, we’ll still be there. There’s some unfinished music we’d love to finish up, if possible, and perhaps we’ll do other shows; we’re kind of working on that now. But yes, this is the last time we’re out there for the long tour, which it’s bittersweet.”
Pilson’s Songwriting Credits Debate With Dokken
In related news, Pilson found himself at the center of a dispute over songwriting credits within Dokken. Contesting recent claims made by Don Dokken regarding the songwriting contributions to the band’s third album, ‘Under Lock And Key,’ Pilson labeled such assertions as ‘total bullsh*t:’
“Jeff [Pilson], Mick [Brown], and I wrote almost everything. … This is always a thing with Don. He goes off about how he wrote everything. That’s bullshit. Jeff and I, and Don and Jeff wrote some things, and Don wrote a thing, something on his own here and there, and important songs, but the bulk of the material was written by Jeff and I, and that’s just the truth.”
Supported by former guitarist George Lynch, Pilson touched upon the collective effort behind the band’s material. Meanwhile, Foreigner is getting ready for their summer tour, on which you can get more information here.
