Angela Gossow says that she was “losing the joy” of fronting an extreme metal band before finally making the decision to quit ARCH ENEMY, explaining that she wanted to “step down rather than pretend.”
After 13 years as ARCH ENEMY‘s vocalist, German-born Gossow shocked the heavy metal world in 2014 with the sudden announcement of her retirement from the band. While she is no longer performing with them, she has remained closely involved with ARCH ENEMY as their business manager.
Asked how the dramatic changes in the revenue streams for non-mainstream musicians in recent years have affected the way she works with her artists from a business perspective, Gossow said: “Like I said, I think it’s wrong to take too much commission. Also, there are markets you don’t need to utilize a booking agent, but do it yourself. This way you save another 10% agent fee. It’s all about planning ahead and avoiding extra costs. Book your flights early, make sure your passports and visas are issued in time.
“Artists make money touring — but if touring becomes too expensive or you have to cancel a tour due to missing paperwork, you are ruined. It’s a manager’s duty to keep a good cash flow, review label and publishing statements, make sure all shows, etc. are being paid for, know the places you need to get an advance, take no risk with work permits, hire good crew and organize everything well ahead of time. Losing money and having stressful moments is threatening for a band’s existence. Be on top, sober and alert. Know what you are doing. Numbers don’t lie.”
Gossow also praised her replacement in ARCH ENEMY, Alissa White-Gluz, while revealing that she has started managing Alissa‘s new, yet-to-be-disclosed solo project.
“I took notice of [Alissa] a couple of years ago [after] she came to an ARCH ENEMY show in Montreal and told me ‘Wages Of Sin’ was her reason to get into growling,” Angela said. “I checked out her stuff [with her previous band THE AGONIST and] I was really impressed. When I started to think about my future and the future of the band, I decided to approach her. There’s not many out there who’d be up for that task, it’s easy to throw some clips on YouTube and pretend to be serious. But the real game is much tougher. You’ll be out there performing no matter how you feel, you got a responsibility. You need to step it up big time to become a professional touring and recording musician. You need discipline, health and talent. She’s got it all.”
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