Is Iron Maiden commercial?

Invader

Invader

Ancient Mariner
Okay, it might sound like a stupid question, but stop to think about it.  Is Iron Maiden at the moment, or have they at any time in their past gone, commercial?  The reason I'm asking this is that everyone always says how honest and uncommercial Maiden are, but I like to be sceptical :)  Please give examples for both arguments.
 
One thing is for certain - Maiden know how to make the money from their punters. If this makes them commercial or not - is a matter of opinion.

Personally, I'm happy to buy their releases but steer clear of most (but not all) of their "Best Of's".
 
Well, Maiden were accused to have gone commercial by contemporaries with 'Powerslave' and/or the following two albums. I personally think it's a matter of opinion by your standards of what 'commercial' is, and if Maiden have met that definition. I personally think the closest they're coming to being commercial is their history tours.
 
Perun said:
I personally think the closest they're coming to being commercial is their history tours.
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I think you are right here - but it has been stated before that time is not on their side and they are milking what they can from what time they have left.
 
I think They've had  very good commercial success, but they are not commercial. They have not compromised their vision, style or direction for the sake of money, fans, pressure, whatever reason and that is why they are not commercial, merely a good band that has been blessed with success.
 
Well, how do you define commercial?  Maiden does not toil in relative obscurity.  They have thrived by manipulating an oft-difficult market to their own advantage, and done something very, very few other bands of their genre have done: remained at the head of their world for 25 years.  Is this a commercial success?  Absofuckinglutely.  It's not just the great music, it's the great branding, the recognizable mascot, the lovable Bruce rants, even the "history" tours that keep them very fresh in the public mind.

They have targeted their market (specifically, European and South American males from 16-45) and bombard them, time and time again, with concerts and gigs and releases and basically have outmarketed every other band, metal or not, in this area in a lot of the world.  This is a commercial success.

They have never sold out, in my opinion, which is a different question altogether.
 
I was raised on punk/alternative phylosophy that commercial music sucks and so on... Then I learned from Maiden what is a FAIR TRADE! The religion named "do your best 100%". I was totaly stunned with them seeing so much integrity and being commercial at the same time! They are extreme craftmen of their trade, and I am happy to support that!

Many people who hide behind "alternative" labels are hypocrits who sell trash for significant money. Bullshit.

All I can wish for myself and you, my friends, is to have at least a bit of such a drive Steve, Bruce and the guys have all this years. Being good in what I do, whatever I decide for myself.    :ok:
 
Albie said:
I think you are right here - but it has been stated before that time is not on their side and they are milking what they can from what time they have left.
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I personally think it's great to have the opportunity to hear some rare classics live again without them cutting short on new material on the album tours like some other bands do. Not to mention, these tours are accompanied by (or meant to accompany) a set of high quality DVDs that actually add something significant and valuable to a fans collection, instead of some cheap and worthless reissues or compilations. So, even if money is a driving force here, we still get something for it.
 
I've never thought of the history tours as "commercial", but more as a gift.  If they wanted to do it commercial, they'd do many similar history tours with classics from all ages, not just series of four albums.  What I mean is that they would have had a setlist from their whole 80's and 90's history, so we would've had Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, 2 Minutes to Midnight and The Evil that Men Do all on the same "history" tour.  No, I view the History tour(s)/DVD(s) as a gift from them, certainly not commercial.  Another Life and Drifter, among others, are certainly not for the "mainstream" Maidenfans.  And if you look at how much stuff the Early Days DVD has (Live at the Ruskin, etc.), it is definitely not a rip-off in my opinion. 

As for the original intention of my post, I meant "commercial" as in "wants to cash in as much as possible", not "commercially succesful".  In other words, to what extent has Maiden cashed in on their fans as opposed to how succesful they have been?
 
Invader said:
And if you look at how much stuff the Early Days DVD has (Live at the Ruskin, etc.), it is definitely not a rip-off in my opinion. 
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I never said it was a rip-off. As a matter of fact, if you look at my post, I claimed that this is exactly not what it is.
 
Actually, I was speaking on more general terms, not replying directly to you.  :)  Though perhaps rip-off was too strong a term.  What I meant is that I consider The Early Days DVD to be well worth the money, and a very good purchase.
 
Onhell said:
I think They've had  very good commercial success, but they are not commercial. They have not compromised their vision, style or direction for the sake of money, fans, pressure, whatever reason and that is why they are not commercial, merely a good band that has been blessed with success.
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Well said !
 
Maiden are commercial, no doubt about that. They exist to make money, and they make a great deal. The question is if they have integrity...the answer is undoubtedly yes.
 
Maiden are a bunch of guys, doing what they love and making a great living doing it.  All the DVD's are a gift to me as they don't tour as much in the states.  To see how the world reacts to them outside the U.S. is fantastic.  What I like about the overseas concerts is the cheering, singing and chanting they do....they really know the songs!  I look forward to buying every DVD they put together and you have to remember that they don't have much time left...  I mean Nicko is almost 53!!!  I think we should look forward to more in the Early Days DVD's as the first is great.  Are they commercial?  Of course they are.  They are however an Underground band here in the states and always have been and haven't really relied on the media to promote them.  I mean, MTV, VH1, Radio have never supported them very well and we all know they built their reputation by touring endlessly and pumping out great music. 
 
I agree with Onhell's statement. As for the history DVD's and tours, I love 'em since they provide an opportunity for younger fans to get their hands on otherwise hard to get material from the good old days (by that I mean rare concert footage). I view them more as a gift to the fans rather than some commercial stint because they are not re-prints of something already made, they are whole new works which put everything together nicely, concisely, and clearly for you. :)
 
I find it interesting what Bruce said back in 1985 about MTV on LA DEATH video. And just consider that Maiden videos are usualy cheap and overall they really don't get much attention on TV Networks... sheer proffesional work on the stage made their name.

Puzzling. They are commercial alternative.... or alternative businessmen... whatever you like    :D
 
Not just maiden's videos, but most Metal videos (see Megadeth to name but one) are VERY cheap, which actually, pisses me off, good songs should have a good video to go with it, my opinion anywho.
 
I dunno, its much bigger budget than a lot metal videos.  Ever seen the promo for Immortal's Call of the Wintermoon? :lol:  It makes Holy Smoke look like a Peter Jackson production.
 
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