Pete Evick recently opened up on the financial dynamics within the rock band Poison. He addressed the common misconceptions about how the group’s earnings are distributed.
Pete Evick reveals Poison’s secrets
On The Hair Metal Guru, Evick clarified that contrary to popular belief, Poison’s members do not split their earnings equally four ways. Instead, Bret Michaels gets a larger portion of the band’s revenue because of a negotiated deal reflecting his role as the band’s frontman.
“You had mentioned why wouldn’t Brett play solo and keep the portion of the money as opposed to splitting it four ways,” Evick explained.
“The truth of the matter is he doesn’t split that money four ways of Poison. He does get the lion share of that because he’s worked that out in his deal because he’s the one carrying the torch.”
Evick drew parallels to other major rock bands and said that unequal pay structures are common across the music industry rather than unique to Poison.
“A lot of people have this misconception. I call it the Bon Jovi theory. Because when I was a kid, I fell for it. I believe that Bon Jovi were all best friends and that they were splitting everything four ways and they were going to live happily ever after in a neighborhood together. It’s just it’s just not true,” he said. “Any job in any business, someone gets paid more than someone. There’s hierarchy.”
Evick highlighted that Michaels’ larger share is fair due to his extensive solo career and year-round touring schedule. Other band members do not maintain this level of activity.
“Bret gets mad when I say this. But I’ve already said it a million times. He deserves that. Rock of Love, The Apprentice, just staying out there. Even the solo band itself, cuz Brett’s a year round guy. We don’t stop playing. It’s non-stop,” Evick noted. “And the Poison guys don’t want to do that. CC doesn’t want to play, you know, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all year long.”
Despite the financial complexities, Evick said that the band’s internal dynamics remain professional and cordial. No personal animosity exists between members.
“The Poison politics are intense and unique and would be a smash hit movie or a smash hit reality show in itself. However, it’s not punching each other out. It’s cordial. It’s business. No one’s fighting with each other. No one’s hating each other. There’s no stupid childish rock and roll drama. But there is a lot of politics to get those four on that stage together,” he concluded.
