The Smiley Smile Message Board

Would Mr. Wilson make more money touring with Mike & Bruce or,does his limited touring make him a lot of cash?

Brian gets a share of Mike and Bruce's touring revenue... and reportedly he sometimes loses money on his own tours.

"sometimes" ?  ::)

If Brians tours always run at a loss how does he afford to keep doing it? Is he really that rich that he can keep covering it?

I assume he gets quite an income from the BBs-- both touring and record sales.
I think touring his band must be expensive, if only because the band is so large.

How often has Brian been his own tour promoter?

I know this appears to be a dumb question (so feel free to hammer me), but, does anybody else, other than Brian Wilson, get paid for NOT performing at Beach Boys' concerts?

My understanding was Al and Carl's estate also get paid.

Now there's the gig to get!
Getting paid for not performing!
Does Al also make money from not putiing out his album?

As a pool cleaner, I want to get paid for NOT cleaning the swimming pools

Well I will get hammerd for this but I think Bruce would come close. A nice guy from all accounts but not there for his keyboard skills or lead vocals thats for sure. A lot of times he is away from the microphone front of stage getting the hand clapping going in the audience. He is there to put the 's' in to Beach Boy's' for me.

I have to say that is a shame as Bruce is a tremendously gifted keyboard player (piano and organ) and he doesn't seem to play hardly at all. He was once an important part of the touring band, listed to Knebworth, 80 DC, The Mike Douglas Show on youtube and his piano/keyboard is all over the sound! I know his voice is not as smooth as it was and it was never really strong, but he could be singing much more than GOK and DYWD!! Disney Girls more often, Wendy, I Write The Songs, PLEASE LET ME WONDER!!, (always thought he did a great job), She Believes in Love fits his voice perfectly! I am sure his current side kick role, accessory, hand clapper etc. is his choice but it's a shame but cause he is a much better musician than that.

I don't hear him so much on Knebworth, but in the late '60s, early '70s, the guy was integral to the touring band.  I've often thought the same thing.  Bruce was almost certainly the most technically (as opposed to intuitively) gifted player in the band.

In the early 1970s, at one point, I believe Bruce was the only keyboardist in the live band - on the Syracuse 1971 gig he's all over the place on the Hammond organ or on piano.

You make too much money buddy ?

I could be wrong, but I guess that they at least have to pay licensing fees to the copyrights holder of every song they perform.

Be happy!

Following on Andrew's answer: All the Brian tours lose money?  Then why do they do them?  I know they like to keep the inglourious basterd busy but that's a damn expensive way to do that.   Unless he gets paid and the promoters lose the money, but if so then that spigot should run dry soon, yes?  He's got the Disney deal, he can clip coupons, he can throw crap together in one day and post it on his website (i.e., "Heaven").  So why doesn't he just stay busy doing that?  Any cognoscenti care to enlighten us proles?

No they don't.

It depends doesn't it? The tour may not make money but Brian and the band might still make money or the band might still make money, right?

Without knowing much about the music biz, a tour would be important to keep a artists profile up. Plenty of  print and radio time for each concert would perhaps pay off with interest in the artists other work followed by sales. Think of Brian being commisioned by the brits for LOS for example. A series of concerts only which then became a album for him.

I think I remember reading a quote somewhere attributed (of course) to Mike where he says something like 'Brian stays at home and collects money while we are the ones out touring. No wonder he's called a Genius'. Or something along those lines. Although I think that was back in the '70s.

...but isn't that the way God intended things to be?  ???

I think it's a well-known fact that in working with Brian Wilson, the members of his band are doing it more for commitment to Brian and his music than any monetary gain. Once the touring and recording ends, it's back to odd jobs and session work. And considering how several of the band members were, shall we say, on shaky terms, perhaps, with the powers that be since 1999, it's a wonder their commitment is strong today. But then comes the problem - if they were on such shaky terms with the powers that be, why are they still with Brian to this day? Perhaps this is the key that Brian truly does have a say in his career plans.

The respect the band members have earned--not to mention publicity--is almost sure to help them in their future endeavors, though. I'm not saying it's some kind of guaranteed superstardom--"sales" of Taylor's or Scott's or later Wondermints albums would prove as much--but it having the likes of McCartney or Neil Young or any number of journalists praise you couldn't hurt the resume. And would Darian have gotten his Disney gig if not for his BWPS (i.e., his first Disney) gig?

I'm sure that Brian himself is an employee of the business that does the touring. Therefore he can and probably does make money touring even if the business itself doesn't end up making any profit...

and sometimes, it's more profitable to take a loss, tax-wise.

I think of it this way. He is doing something other then being isolated like he was for a long time, not knowing how much people truly did love his music. Regardless how much money his tours make, they are of the best quality I've ever seen of a touring act and I'm saying this after seeing them 13 times since 2004.

Have read that somewhere myself. Mike needed to think of it as most artists would think of their manager, who also stays home and takes a cut for doing nothing on stage. No Brian Wilson, no music for the Mike and Bruce shows. At the end of the day, nobody has ever forced Mike to tour.