Why Are Most Metal Heads Poor?

[nightsblood]

The ol' "I could do that, but I don't want to" response- I could also have bought it, but i also didn't want to j/k
Technically people could just keep whipping out the credit card and buying all kinds of albums they want, even at high prices, and I guess some folks do.

I see what your saying, but to me if you have to go into debt to buy something then you really can't afford it.

I agree

[King Zombie]

I come from a lower middle class family and my friends who listen metal come from middle class (which is a wide spectrum) too yet MOST metalheads here come from lower classes; they are not necessarily outcasts. I've spent a considerable sum on the 200 records on CD I own (aside from the Mp3 ones).

The EURO or dollar amount some of these collecters have spent must have comprised a considerable part of their salaries. Whats the basic salary in US and Europe?

[Cochino]

If metalheads were poor, metal albums wouldn't be so expensive. As a matter of fact, in Uruguay, for example, metal was a high class music because you had to have money to buy rare imported vinyls. Of course we all know that it was created by members of the lower class, like Rock And Roll itself, but now I don't think that most metalheads are poor, I just think that the fact that most people are poor translates also to the metal realm. I know a lot of metalheads who have tons of money. But personally I'm a mid class person, and Argentinean mid class would be like Swedish homeless windshield washer I guess.

[DaN]

..and Argentinean mid class would be like Swedish homeless windshield washer I guess.

Oh yes, absolutely. Actually, as a privileged member of the civilized world I could use my very own shoeshine-boy here in my mansion. Wanna make a serious carreer-move? Then I got this offer you just can't refuse! No need to cry for Argentina anymore
If you don't mind living in the shed under the stairs and consider bread, water and shitty overcompressed Metal-mp3s enough to make you through the day this will make your fellow 3rd world countrymen green with envy.
..and if those shoes will be as shiny as I hope for I just might let you have a look at my gigantic, superexpensive record collection once every second month. Do we have deal, ye underprivileged serf?





Sorry, this is a very interesting thread and I will adress it more seriously when I'm a tad bit more sober..

[Cochino]

Offer accepted! Just one question though, are Swedish girls easily seduced by latin charm?

(And just for the record, I wasn't serious about the Argentina/Sweden comparission, just making fun of stereotypes).

[DaN]

Offer accepted! Just one question though, are Swedish girls easily seduced by latin charm?

You bet!
..And considering how slutty they are to begin with you're gonna have the time of your life (With this in mind I shouldn't even have to pay you..)

[Korgüll]

on the contrary, isn't Sweden one of the richest countries in the world??

Obviously Sweden has it's fair share of homelessness, un-wealthy & poor people like everywhere... but when you think about the colossal amount of really good Swedish bands over the years surely most of the members came from wealthy backgrounds & and for that reason had good quality instruments, recording equipment/studios & basements to rehearse in while it was snowing outside for half the year?

I remember over the years I did distro & going through the whole Nordic BM thing, the amount of people who would ask me why are there so many Swedish metal bands?
Is it because of the wealth in Sweden (& Norway etc..) and the reasons I pointed out above?

Am I correct? ...or am I uneducated?

[Helm]

just to interject a point, it's very odd for me to see 'fair share' and 'of homelessness and poor people' strung in a row. I realize that it's just a manner of speaking, but I read that phrase and something went 'ding' in my head and I had to at least mention it.

[Korgüll]

it's just a manner of speaking

[Metalipeiklo]

on the contrary, isn't Sweden one of the richest countries in the world??

Obviously Sweden has it's fair share of homelessness, un-wealthy & poor people like everywhere... but when you think about the colossal amount of really good Swedish bands over the years surely most of the members came from wealthy backgrounds & and for that reason had good quality instruments, recording equipment/studios & basements to rehearse in while it was snowing outside for half the year?

I remember over the years I did distro & going through the whole Nordic BM thing, the amount of people who would ask me why are there so many Swedish metal bands?
Is it because of the wealth in Sweden (& Norway etc..) and the reasons I pointed out above?

Am I correct? ...or am I uneducated?

Sweden is most likely the poorest of the Scandinavian countries nowadays, notwithstanding the very high general standard. And outside of Scandinavia that still means a very high standard.

And yes, your reasoning above is correct, and you can add these factors as well:
- Good access to state-subsidarized musical education and premises for young musicians and bands

- Good access to welfare services, such as economical support to the unemployed and people who has no interest in working, making it possible for lots of bands to dedicate their time to musicianship 24/7.

- a liberal climate for "alternative" music and the opinions included therein.

[Cochino]

Offer accepted! Just one question though, are Swedish girls easily seduced by latin charm?

You bet!
..And considering how slutty they are to begin with you're gonna have the time of your life (With this in mind I shouldn't even have to pay you..)

Great! Now I have to get some of that charm, I mean, a short, skinny, white and blondish fellow isn't quite "latin" I guess, but at least I got the Banderas accent.

[MEXDefenderOfSteel]

on the contrary, isn't Sweden one of the richest countries in the world??

Obviously Sweden has it's fair share of homelessness, un-wealthy & poor people like everywhere... but when you think about the colossal amount of really good Swedish bands over the years surely most of the members came from wealthy backgrounds & and for that reason had good quality instruments, recording equipment/studios & basements to rehearse in while it was snowing outside for half the year?

I remember over the years I did distro & going through the whole Nordic BM thing, the amount of people who would ask me why are there so many Swedish metal bands?
Is it because of the wealth in Sweden (& Norway etc..) and the reasons I pointed out above?

Am I correct? ...or am I uneducated?

Sweden is most likely the poorest of the Scandinavian countries nowadays, notwithstanding the very high general standard. And outside of Scandinavia that still means a very high standard.

And yes, your reasoning above is correct, and you can add these factors as well:
- Good access to state-subsidarized musical education and premises for young musicians and bands

- Good access to welfare services, such as economical support to the unemployed and people who has no interest in working, making it possible for lots of bands to dedicate their time to musicianship 24/7.

- a liberal climate for "alternative" music and the opinions included therein.

translate this to all the other "rich" countries in the world too, and thats why they have so many cool bands....thats why a band that comes from the third world has much more credit...its not the same to buy for example, decent equipment in Mexico, than to buy it in Germany or the US which gets much more easier due to sallaries...another thing that i know by experience, is that in poorer countries and its big cities, you cant afford to have a house, that means there are no spaces to rehearse...another reason why bands from richer countries have more oportunities and its easier to sound good....

[Piotr Sargnagel]

I really like Goatsemen - you can hear the grind of the city where those guys grew up in their music, I also really like (old old) Entombed (for example) - you can hear the power of their imagination brought about by the time and money they had at their disposal to expand their minds with books/films etc. One is from REAL LIFE, the other is from IMAGINATION - both have equal merit because both touch me on a gut level! However, I'd be much more keen to see Goatsemen live than Entombed.

Not really an argument just an observation...

[MEXDefenderOfSteel]

yeah you got he point!...fucken Sarcofago its another real deal example of harsh life refelcted in music!

[Piotr Sargnagel]

Passion, not good instruments makes good music. Anyway, the only reason why metalheads might be "poor" is because they buy records, buy plastic covers for records, storage spaces for records, spend hours cleaning their records, listen to records, write about bands on records, discuss the merits of bands, travel the world to find more records - who the hell has time for a job after doing all that?!