Metallica co-manager Peter Mensch spoke in an interview with Music Week and explained that how did Metallica succeed commercially. He said that there’s nobody even close to Metallica.
Here’s the statement:
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder. They put out a great record. They hadn’t put out a record in eight years, it was quality music and then they went and played a bunch of quality shows. It got bigger because I believe they maintained the quality of their product, so music is number one.
Number two, there’s no question about the quality of their performance. Number three, they were out of the [U.S.] marketplace with a new record for years.
They played Europe and stuff like that, but in America where they just completed an absolutely sold-out stadium tour, they hadn’t played in eight years. And number four, guess what? There’s nobody even close to them.
Look, you can make the point that Stone Roses begat Oasis and Pulp and Blur who begat Radiohead, Coldplay, Muse even. We’re still waiting for the next Metallica. I get plenty of e-mails saying, ‘We’re the next Metallica,’ and then they send me sh*tty music. But there’s nobody else.”