Do you like Queensryche? No, not enough to get their logo tattooed on you when you turned 18 back in 1990 – we mean way more than that. Either the band is vastly overestimating the net worth of their fan base, or a lot of metal fans that loved the band 30 years ago have a lot of money to blow, because the band have just announced that fans can buy an equity stake in the band. Billboard reports that if you’ve got at least $50,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you can purchase an equity ownership stake that will get you a fixed percentage of the band’s future revenue.
If that sounds a bit financially risky, well, yeah. It’s hard to imagine that many people would want to purchase a stake in a band that just recently replaced their lead singer and can’t even by law play their most popular album (Operation Mindcrime) in its entirety. While David Bowie sold off a stake in himself back in 1997, that was David fucking Bowie we’re talking about, not the band that was two bands until earlier this year.
“This is an opportunity for fans to actually own an equity stake in the band,” attorney Marc LoPresti of LoPresti Law Group, who helped Queensryche establish the LLC, told Billboard. “There is nothing that they do as a unit as Queensryche that the fans that invest will not be a part of.” LoPresti says that the board of directors for Queensryche will include original members Scott Rockenfield, Eddie Jackson and Michael Wilton, as well as band counsel Thomas Osinski. What, no Todd LaTorre? Way to haze the new guy. The article explains that they’re “only” looking to raise $2 million, so it’s limited to 40 people, none of whom will be Geoff Tate or anyone that has a financial advisor.
What’s more is that at the same time they’re asking rich fans or music-loving investors to throw down $50k, they’re also launching a PledgeMusic campaign to help fund their next album. It’s not certain as to whether they’re still on Century Media, but if they’re asking fans on both a small level and a $50,000+ level to invest in their band, they must not be doing super amazing, financially. Rockenfield says that the band has a lot of “big picture stuff” going on that the larger investors will help fund, including touring and presenting themselves “in bigger ways.” Good luck with that. If it works, then look for a lot of other Rocklahoma-era bands to try to go the same route.
