Morrissey is asking fans not to buy a pair of just-announced box sets of his solo 7-inch singles — in addition to recent singles boxes and vinyl reissues of The Smiths’ catalog — because he had no input in them nor, perhaps more importantly, will he make any money off of them.
In a statement to fan site True to You — which Moz seems to favor over even his own Web site when it comes to explaining himself — the singer makes it known he “does not approve such releases and would ask people not to bother buying them.”
Morrissey claims not to have received royalty payments from EMI — which is releasing the solo box sets this fall — since 1992, and adds that it’s been 10 years since he received royalties from Warner Music Group, which recently reissued the Smiths’ albums on vinyl and owns Rhino Records, which put out the recent 7-inch and CD box sets of the Smiths’ singles.
The full statement as posted on True to You:
Morrissey would like it to be known that he has not been consulted by EMI/HMV/Parlophone with regards to two forthcoming boxed sets of Morrissey singles. Morrissey does not approve such releases and would ask people not to bother buying them. Morrissey receives no royalty payments from EMI for any back catalogue, and has not received a royalty from EMI since 1992. Morrissey also does not approve of, and was not consulted on, the Rhino box of Smiths CDs, or the Warner releases of Smiths LPs on 180 gramme vinyl. Morrissey last received a royalty payment from Warners ten years ago, and, once again, he would ask people not to bother buying the reissued LPs or CDs.
The 10-record The 7″ Singles ‘88-’91 and the 9-record The HMV/Parlophone Singles ‘91-’95 will be released Oct. 12 and Nov. 2, respectively. The full tracklists are available here.
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS:
- Morrissey to release vinyl box sets of solo singles spanning 1988 to 1995
- Morrissey, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Pixies top first six months of Slicing Up Eyeballs
- Morrissey vows to restart Tour of Refusal, announces ‘Swords’ b-sides album
- The Smiths’ ‘Singles Box’ to be released this month in expanded 12-CD edition
- Morrissey’s ‘Years of Refusal’ tour marred by cancellations, immigration trouble
It’s sort of funny that the corporations whining the most about copyright infringement via downloading, are also the most likely to be screwing the artists out of their pittance.
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