Here’s what Nick Cave had to say when asked if celebrities are overpaid 

Nick Cave has responded to a fan who asked him if he thinks that celebrities are overpaid and explained his attitude towards getting paid for his creativity.

The question was put forward to the Bad Seeds singer on his personal blog, The Red Hand Files, when a fan named Carol said she was “becoming increasingly frustrated with the ‘celebrity’ culture” – particularly how creatives are “paid shit tons of money” compared to people in the “services that enable” them to.

Beginning his response, Cave revealed that he had been in the studio for the past week in the run-up to his concert in Paris with The Bad Seeds being shared on streaming platforms. From there, he went on to explain that what he saw where the fan was coming from, he found the comments “struck a nerve”.

“The first question I was greeted with [this morning], Carol, as the birds started up their happy chirping outside my bedroom window on this beautiful spring morning, was your grumbly little letter about ‘celebrities’ being grossly overpaid,” he began. “Are we being paid too much? Maybe. My own policy in these matters is to accept the money when it comes, as long as it does not compromise the integrity of the work itself.”

“I understand that people form deep personal connections with my songs, so I try to preserve their essence and am cautious around their exploitation,” he added. “Generally this approach works, but sometimes it falls short. A lot of my work, such as The Red Hand Files, is not monetised. I think this is one of the reasons I find the Files so rewarding, because the benefits to me are spiritual rather than remunerative.”

Going on to suggest that he found the comments somewhat insulting, he added: “Maybe it’s because it’s early and I haven’t had a coffee yet, [but] the dismissive characterisations of an athlete who ‘kicks a ball around,’ a designer who ‘makes a dress’ (she’s sleeping next to me), or an artist who merely ‘paints a picture,’ struck a nerve.

“Your letter felt a little ungenerous and seemed to contain a corrupting resentment – that kind of indignant, moral posturing where we blame others for our feelings of powerlessness. Resentment – that bitter cup of gall is not good, Carol, not for your heart, not for your soul, not for your digestion, not for anything,” he added.

The comments about the designer “who ‘makes a dress’” sleeping next to him refer to his wife Susie, who is a designer and the creator of the fashion brand The Vampire’s Wife.

“There is much to feel frustrated about in this world – perhaps celebrity culture is one of them – and we can expend our heart’s energy being endlessly aggrieved, but to what end? What does it achieve? What good does it do? I love you too, Carol, and it is hard to hear you so unhappy,” he concluded.

“I feel exceptionally fortunate to be paid for doing a job I love and I have nothing but profound gratitude for being in this privileged position. Ultimately, though, let’s agree that celebrities are probably overpaid.”

The show with The Bad Seeds that was filmed in Paris, which was mentioned at the beginning of the response, was recorded during last year’s ‘’Wild God’ tour, and was made available to stream worldwide (barring North America) last night via the ARTE Concert YouTube channel and ARTE.tv. It will be available in the US from June 1.

Those shows took place across the UK and Europe last year, and came in celebration of the songwriter’s new album with The Bad Seeds, ‘Wild God’.

The record was given a four-star review by NME upon its release last year, which read: “Bad Seeds records are infamously loaded with gothic doom and gloom. Of course, this ain’t a poptastic LOLfest, and still coloured with the many shades of a life so challenging and weathered.

“But never has Cave been so freewheelin’ than on the giddy ‘Frogs’, ‘Jumping for love and the opening sky above’ as ‘Kris Kristofferson walks by kicking a can in a shirt he hasn’t washed for years’. With a lust for life, the once-dark prince is letting the light in.”

Before the release, Nick Cave spoke to NME about his outlook on life, and opened up about how he thinks social media contributes towards the pessimistic outlook of younger generations.

“I think social media is a huge problem and is having a huge demoralising effect on society. Young people are losing faith in the world in general and what the world has to offer them. That’s a major problem,” he said.

Cave is set to embark on another tour later this year – playing 13 solo shows across Europe between June and August. Visit here for remaining tickets.