Why wasn't REM bigger?

The Monster tour could have been a stadium tour but they didn't want to play stadiums.

 

I agree. REM were massive in 1995 after the release of Monster, could have sold 40,000 tickets or more to dates in USA football stadiums and European ones. They were just about the biggest band in the world, right there with Pearl Jam and Oasis.

It was IMO their commercial peak, the culmination of the string of big albums they had had since the late 1980s. Fans old and new would have eaten up a stadium tour that summarized all that, IMO.

 

Yep. They sold out three nights at an arena in Philly. It could’ve very easily been at a stadium

 

Why wasn't R.E.M. bigger?

Why won't this thread die?

I gave New Adventures In Hi-Fi a spin about a week ago. Excellent album.

 

Funny thing, I heard the 1991 Unplugged version of “Fall on Me” in a supermarket today. That was cool and unexpected

 

There's a good chance you saw a legendary show!

 

And as big as Oasis were, they opened for R.E.M. in Ireland.

 

Good point, but IIRC, that was when Oasis had not yet released "Morning Glory", which sent them in to another orbit of "bigness", IMO.

But man, would I have liked to have been there!

 

And almost every band that makes it to even recording an album sell less than 50k records, most a whole lot less, and a big payday is playing for a sell out crowd at a 400 capacity club. REM was huge for many many years and would rank as one of the tip top bands of the late 20th century.

 

True, it was summer 95, and they were probably booked before Some Might Say was released in the spring.

 

It's "IN Utero"

 

Oops, you beat me to it.

 

Maybe there's a multiverse out there where R.E.M. plays stadiums in '94, cutting the sheer number of shows in half and Bill doesn't quit.

 

They did play some stadiums in the UK and Europe in July/August 1995 as part of the Monster tour.

List of R.E.M. concert tours - Wikipedia

 

I recall R.E.M. songs included regularly in pop radio broadcasts in the '90s, and especially the song Shiny Happy People, which frankly is the only one I can faithfully recall. I like it for its guest vocalist Kate Pierson. Unfortunately, I didn't find much else of theirs that made me feel good and smile. The B-52's, on the other hand, were lots of fun and especially their Cosmic Thing album!

 

Lucky man - you saw them at their Southern Gothic peak. Fables was my favorite REM album back then.

And correct on London - produced by Joe Boyd. Credits include the first Pink Floyd single, plus Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, 10,000 Maniacs and former owner of the Hannibal label. Also worked closely with engineer John Wood. Another interesting gent.

 

Didn’t Warner Bros. sign them for 80 million dollars? It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

 

AND they walked away with those WB era masters/publishing from Green onwards(25 year reversion clause?). Now licensed to Concord.

 

The reversion happened more quickly than 25 years, I think.

 

The R.E.M. vs Nirvana debate is going nowhere. I don't care for Nirvana but it's obvious that their albums continue to enjoy healthy sales, while sales of R.E.M.'s back catalogue are stagnant.

Nirvana as a brand continues to be embraced by the youngsters, the millenials, etcetera, it's still going strong.

On the other hand R.E.M. is stuck with Generation-X . Once the last of us Generation Xers dies so will the "brand image" of R.E.M.

 

I like several REM songs and a few of their albums.
But Stipes vocals are not my cup of tea - takes a powerful song to overshadow a vocal style so unique.
I know several folks that feel similar.
Not intended to bash them at all BTW.

 

That Kurt didn’t live long enough to make his Around the Sun doubtless plays a part in the cool factor of Nirvana. If Stipe had put a gun in his mouth or overdosed after Fables of the Reconstruction, I’m sure R.E.M.’s cool factor would be slightly higher today. Conversely, that R.E.M. did last long enough to make 15 albums affords more opportunity for future rediscovery of their catalog: I can imagine a world where Up becomes reassessed as a flawed masterpiece along the lines of Big Star’s Third.

 

R.E.M. never licensed a single song of theirs for a commercial. It was a point of pride for them as other acts started selling their legacy to Nike (*cough*Beatles*) or Microsoft (*cough*Stones*) or General Motors (*cough*Zeppelin*).

 

Concord REM music distro deal signed in late 2015.

 

"Shiny Happy People" cut right through to pop radio.. the band was getting noticed outside of their immediate alt rock fanbase with "Can't Get There from Here" in '85.. big push behind them I believe in '87 when they changed labels "Life's Rich Pageant" "Superman".. then they grew VERY big then in spring '91 with "Losing My Religion" where they entered a superstardom phase. I agree with many posters here that you just don't get bigger than this band was from that point through "Everybody Hurts". They weren't limited from playing stadiums they just weren't seeking to become that sort of band and were a band that really embraced the concept of playing live before an audience they could see. But they were huge as has been said .. going over 10 million on a couple of their records and if they'd WANTED to just enjoy rock stardom.. write good quality hit tunes or great rockers and tour stadiums they could have done that till doomsday! But no this wasn't some alt rock mini success here.. they hit BIG..