Mike's Book Discussion Thread (and how it relates to the SS board)

[IainLee]

I got an early proof copy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Early revelations include he first explained cunnilingus to a young Dennis.

A cracking read so far.

[HeyJude]

And there's your lyrics for the nostalgic throw-back song on Mike's upcoming solo album.....

[KDS]

I got an early proof copy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Early revelations include he first explained cunnilingus to a young Dennis.

A cracking read so far.

Spoiler alert!!! 

[CenturyDeprived]

Rockin' The Main in the No Go Showboat

You better watch out what you eat...

[HeyJude]

I guess now we know what Mike will be talking about when he promotes the book on "The View" and Queen Latifah's show.

[Theydon Bois]

I can't wait for the audiobook.  I predict that, as he reads this passage aloud, a few notes of barely-suppressed satisfaction, maybe even glee, will enter his voice.

[Cool Cool Water]

I got an early proof copy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Early revelations include he first explained cunnilingus to a young Dennis.

A cracking read so far.

Excellent! Can't wait to receive my copy when it is released in the UK. 

[Juice Brohnston]

I got an early proof copy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Early revelations include he first explained cunnilingus to a young Dennis.

A cracking read so far.

Well he is a Cunning Linguist..have you heard Belles of Paris

[HeyJude]

If the audiobook is actually unabridged and Mike reads stuff like that, I would imagine guys that make stuff like this: ( https://vine.co/v/iwPQdMKJIqV ) will have a field day with new audio material to work with....

[JK]

I got an early proof copy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Early revelations include he first explained cunnilingus to a young Dennis.

A cracking read so far.

Well he is a Cunning Linguist..have you heard Belles of Paris

 

[HeroesandVillains]

I got an early proof copy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Early revelations include he first explained cunnilingus to a young Dennis.

A cracking read so far. 

Slip on through ~

[tortapuerco]

PSA: Mike's book is now up and searchable on Amazon.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

So looking forward to his "explanation" for the infamous R&R tirade. That's certainly a fitting subject for him to discuss and try like hell to justify.

Don't hold your breath.

[tpesky]

Still trying to show he's better than Dennis after all these years.

[Needleinthehay]

Wow, did some searching through the book on Amazon and I have to give Mike credit, he doesn't skip most of the controversial things i figured wouldn't be in the book. Granted, he puts his own spin on things, but at least theyre on there and not completely ignored like i assumed.

[Rocky Raccoon]

I'm impressed by what I've read so far.  Will definitely pick this one up.

[HeyJude]

Mike has an interesting and predictable outlook on how the license revenue should be interpreted. He contends it's his band's hard work that has earned BRI $23.8 million over the 17 years he's been using the license.

I would argue he's getting a great deal in paying to use the name to generate TONS more revenue on top of that.

Also interesting that his numbers line up pretty well with some of the guesstimates thrown around on this board. It amounts to about $350,000 each year pre-tax for each of the four shareholders. Again, that's a pittance for Mike's band to pay to use such a valuable trademark.

[Needleinthehay]

Mike has an interesting and predictable outlook on how the license revenue should be interpreted. He contents it's his band's hard work that has earned BRI $23.8 million over the 17 years he's been using the license.

Which means we can deduce that mike grosses ~7 Mil/year from touring (granted probably more in recent years since concert ticket prices have risen and also i believe theyre doing more dates now than ever, plus I doubt they were doing meet and greets, plat packages, etc when he first started) since he pays approx 18% license to BRI.

Also, I bet he'd be grossing $700k/year under "Mike Love & Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys", so it's a good deal for him

[HeyJude]

I'm not sure exactly how the BRI license fee works; I vaguely recall reading that it consisted of an upfront fee or lump sum and then X percentage past that amount. Either way, Mike's tour is certainly grossing a lot of money. Especially as he has only *lengthened* the touring he does each year.

Now, of course, the money Mike's tour grosses obviously then has a bunch of overhead costs taken out (musicians, etc.). But also worth keeping in mind is that I believe it's Mike's own production company that runs the tour rather than an outside firm. So the fees a band would normally pay such an agency are going to Mike's own company as well.

But Mike is easily netting, I'd say, several million per year on top of the *equal* cut of the licensing fee that he gets. He could potentially and perhaps *easily* be netting ten times what the BRI shareholders are getting. A far cry from any sort of "equal cut" touring out on the road.

What I can also guess is that both Brian and Al made significantly more than $350,000 in 2012 touring as part of the anniversary tour.

[IainLee]

This is book is brilliant. Genuinely brilliant. The haters are gonna have a field day, of course. But I'm really enjoying it.

[HeyJude]

Please stop calling people who criticize Mike "haters." I guess that term has fallen into more common usage in recent years, but it implies that people who criticize him are being hateful, and it also ends up being rather dismissive.

"Anybody who doesn't like this must be a hater" is the same as "It's Mike's book so I'm sure it'll suck."

[KDS]

Please stop calling people who criticize Mike "haters." I guess that term has fallen into more common usage in recent years, but it implies that people who criticize him are being hateful, and it also ends up being rather dismissive.

"Anybody who doesn't like this must be a hater" is the same as "It's Mike's book so I'm sure it'll suck."

I think there's a few different levels of the anti Mike crowd. 

You have fans who don't much care for Mike, but still give him chances, and even attend his shows, but don't like the things he says interviews, and don't care for some of his past actions (ie. RNRHOF speech).  More like dislike. 

Then, you have others who've given Mike every chance in the book, but have given up based on his recent actions.  I think these fans dislike Mike, but might still pick up the book and give it a chance.

But, I think there is also a very small group of people who are legitimate "haters."  These are the ones who refuse to give Mike any credit for any past Beach Boys successes, or acknowledge any positive contributions he's made.  They also will poo poo anything Mike releases without hearing it (ie. the Christmas single and the book).  And some will generally trash almost anything with M. Love's name attached to it without being objective. 

[Needleinthehay]

I'm not sure exactly how the BRI license fee works; I vaguely recall reading that it consisted of an upfront fee or lump sum and then X percentage past that amount.

20% royalty on the first $1 million in gross receipts and a 17.5% royalty thereafter.

Now, of course, the money Mike's tour grosses obviously then has a bunch of overhead costs taken out (musicians, etc.).

In the Rolling Stone article about C50 they mention that Mike tours "the wal-mart way" which means flying commercial and renting equipment, etc. So guessing he keeps a decent amount. Not to mention he moved to Nevada where there is no state income tax (and not a community property state, too) so he probably keeps a good chunk.
Also, someone on here said Bruce is paid a salary and doesn't get a percentage of the tour income.

[HeyJude]

Please stop calling people who criticize Mike "haters." I guess that term has fallen into more common usage in recent years, but it implies that people who criticize him are being hateful, and it also ends up being rather dismissive.

"Anybody who doesn't like this must be a hater" is the same as "It's Mike's book so I'm sure it'll suck."

I think there's a few different levels of the anti Mike crowd. 

You have fans who don't much care for Mike, but still give him chances, and even attend his shows, but don't like the things he says interviews, and don't care for some of his past actions (ie. RNRHOF speech).  More like dislike. 

Then, you have others who've given Mike every chance in the book, but have given up based on his recent actions.  I think these fans dislike Mike, but might still pick up the book and give it a chance.

But, I think there is also a very small group of people who are legitimate "haters."  These are the ones who refuse to give Mike any credit for any past Beach Boys successes, or acknowledge any positive contributions he's made.  They also will poo poo anything Mike releases without hearing it (ie. the Christmas single and the book).  And some will generally trash almost anything with M. Love's name attached to it without being objective. 

I think that last group, especially on a board like this (as opposed to, say, YouTube commenters where the majority of people posting seem to hate *everything* ever) is so few in number that it's barely worth raising as a topic. And even those people probably didn't wake up one day not knowing who Mike Love was, saw a picture of him, and decided they "hated" him. Even that over-the-top blanket criticism stems to some degree from stuff Mike has done over the years.

The problem is that genuine criticism, especially when it has an extra layer of snark or edge to it, gets lumped in with the worst of the bunch.

There's also a frustrating tendency for an inflammatory Mike interview, for instance, to materialize, followed by criticism, followed by some folks assuming that criticism comes out of some deep-rooted hate of Mike. If Mike gives his 500th d***head interview and people criticize it, maybe they're still criticizing it because it's genuinely a lamentable interview. The criticism can become *redundant*, that's for sure. But it's not hate. And it's usually only redundant because Mike's statements and actions are often redundant in their negative, inflammatory nature.

I also find that the fewer years one has been a BB fan, the less fed-up those fans *sometimes* tend to be about Mike. Reading old interviews and learning the history is one thing; but if you've lived through decades and decades of this stuff in *real time*, it sometimes carries a little more weight. Absorbing the 50+ years of their history in a very short period of time is much easier now, and it sometimes softens the decades and decades of seeing and hearing the same thing over and over.

Which is why I think Mike really blew it in 2012, because he had won over many of those old, crusty, jaded fans who had found Mike unfortunate for decades prior.

[HeyJude]

I'm not sure exactly how the BRI license fee works; I vaguely recall reading that it consisted of an upfront fee or lump sum and then X percentage past that amount.

20% royalty on the first $1 million in gross receipts and a 17.5% royalty thereafter.

Now, of course, the money Mike's tour grosses obviously then has a bunch of overhead costs taken out (musicians, etc.).

In the Rolling Stone article about C50 they mention that Mike tours "the wal-mart way" which means flying commercial and renting equipment, etc. So guessing he keeps a decent amount. Not to mention he moved to Nevada where there is no state income tax (and not a community property state, too) so he probably keeps a good chunk.
Also, someone on here said Bruce is paid a salary and doesn't get a percentage of the tour income.

Yes, Mike apparently runs a very lean machine, so he's definitely saving money there. Bruce is indeed on salary from everything I've ever heard, and was going back to the pre-2000s apparently.