Staind Guitarist Says He’s Never Gotten Paid by Atlantic/WMG — But Did Take a Pretty Hefty Advance

Photo Credit: Mike Mushok by Craig Noce / CC by 3.0

Staind guitarist Mike Mushok says he’s never received a royalty payment from Atlantic Records — but the band did receive “large advances.”

Staind guitarist Mike Mushok sat down for an interview on The KiddChris Show, which airs on the WEBN station in Cincinnati. There, he weighed in on Chevelle frontman Pete Loeffler’s 2021 claim that the band hadn’t received any money from record sales despite selling six million albums for Epic Records. It turns out, according to Mushok, Staind had a similar experience.

“I’ve sold I don’t know how many millions of records, and I’ve never once received a royalty from the record company after […] 20, whatever, 25 years. We still owe them money. We haven’t been on the label since — I don’t know, 2011 was the last record we put out on Atlantic, and we still owe them money,” said Mushok.

“And listen, I’m not gonna lie — they gave us large advances, and that’s why [we still owe them money]. But seriously, they have to be paid off,” he added. “I think it’s estimated, […] like, another three years it’ll be paid off, and I’ll actually start making royalties on our records.”

Mushok doesn’t anticipate the band having an easy time trying to reclaim their own music, either. “Supposedly after 35 years, the masters are supposed to revert back to you. But I was talking to our attorney about that, and he said that no label ever lets you do that. They try to buy you out and give you money so they can continue to own the masters — unless you fight them.”

Both Staind and Chevelle are now signed to Alchemy Recordings, after years with other major labels (Chevelle with Epic, and Staind with Elektra and Atlantic). Staind released their first studio album in over a decade back in late 2023. Confessions of the Fallen debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top Album chart.

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