In a move that should surprise about four people, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst recently announced during a podcast that the band has parted ways with Interscope Records. The rap-rock band had been on Interscope (and it’s subsidiary Flip) since the beginning of their recording career. Their most recent album, the long in the works Gold Cobra, sold 27,000 copies in its first week when it was released earlier this year.
“One of the things with Gold Cobra was that that was a record, for us, to do for ourselves, for the core fans, for some of the people that we know in the industry — its wasn’t our step forward to make a big pop, smash radio record; we just didn’t wanna make that record at that time,” Durst told the Poolside with Dean Delray podcast . “We have been working for awhile now to renavigate where we are going to take Limp Bizkit, and finally we have been able to get off our label and become independent.”
It actually makes sense that Bizkit go indie. 27,000 copies is a great number for an independent band, but not particularly for a major, especially given a long-delayed album. And given that 11 years ago, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water sold over one million copies in its first week, the new album’s quick slide into obscurity after its first week likely didn’t help much. Let’s face it, while they still might have a draw overseas, rap rock is a niche genre at best in the states. Remember that tour they did for Gold Cobra? No? That’s because there wasn’t one. If they can play festivals overseas that make them as much money in a few shows as a U.S. tour in 400-seat venues would, why wouldn’t they do that? They still have some allegedly “huge” news coming soon, so we’ll have to see what that is. Meanwhile, even if Bizkit go on hiatus or break up again, Fred’s at least got his burgeoning sitcom career.
