Steve Miller not playing ball over Rock Hall filming rights

Getty
(Image credit: Getty)

Steve Miller says he has not yet signed the release contract granting the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame rights for HBO to broadcast his portion of the 2016 induction ceremony.

Miller says he and his lawyer are still discussing whether to grant permission to Rock Hall organisers due to the “murky” and “ridiculous” paperwork.

He tells the San Diego Tribune: “I spent part of today talking to my lawyer, and we’re still negotiating. We’re demanding they clean up their paperwork – their paperwork is just ridiculous.

“When they tell you that you’ve been nominated, they don’t give you any information. It’s: ‘We’ll let you know how you do.’ They are a day late and a dollar short.

“They’re talking about having you sign releases and them controlling other people’s art; it’s as bad as any contract I’ve seen in 50 years. I’ve spent 3 months with them negotiating to clean it up and share it with everybody else inducted this year.

“They pitted everybody against everybody else, and it’s all unnecessary. God, I could straighten it all out in a day.

“Everything in the contract is hard to understand and murky, and the Rock Hall have all theses rights and the artists don’t have any, and you have to indemnify them. I don’t do contracts like that, whether it’s with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the Kennedy Center, or anyone else.”

The Black Keys made headlines last week after saying they “regret” inducting Miller after his Rock Hall rant and his behaviour towards them at the event. Miller says they were “nice guys”, but that artists should have input into who would introduce them onstage.

He says: “I was going to ask Elton John. He knows me and has probably knows my music better than most people. But they said: ‘We’ll pick who inducts you, and it will be a surprise. Oh, and here are all these things you have to sign off on for licensing.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about? You guys need to calm down.’

“I think you should have a say in who’s going to induct you. The guys who inducted me are nice guys, but they didn’t know a thing about me.”

Miller will kick off his 37-date US tour next month.

Steve Miller tour dates 2016

May 06: Lowell Tsongas Center, MA
May 07: Salamanica Seneca Allegany Resort, NY
Jun 17: Northfield Hard Rock Live, OH
Jun 19: Cincinnati PNC Pavilion, OH
Jun 21: Huber Heights Rose Music Center, OH
Jun 23: Interlochen Kresge Auditorium, MI
Jun 24: Clarkston DTE Energy Center, MI
Jun 25: Anderson Hoosier Park Raceway, IN
Jun 29: Minneapolis, Northrop Auditorium, MN
Jun 30: Ft Dodge Shellabration, IA
Jul 01; Madison Breese Stevens Field, WI
Jul 02: Highland Park Ravinia, IL
Jul 15: Peachtree City Fred, GA
Jul 16: Raleigh Red Hat Amphithteater, NC
Jul 17: Charlotte Uptown Amphitheater, NC
Jul 19: Augusta Bell Auditorium, GA
Jul 20: Tallahassee Pavilion Centre, FL
Jul 22: Biloxi Beau Rivage, MS
Jul 23: Houston Revention Music Center, TX
Jul 24: San Antonio Majestic Theater, TX
Jul 26: Austin Skyline Theater, TX
Jul 27: Hidalho State Farm Arena, TX
Jul 30: Albuquerque Sandia Resort, NM
Aug 12: Las Vegas Chelsea Cosmopolitan, NV
Aug 13: Los Angeles Greek Theater, CA
Aug 14: Paso Robles Vina Robles, CA
Aug 16: Fesno Table Mountain Casino, CA
Aug 18: Lake Tahoe Harrahs Outdoor Arena, NV
Aug 19: Park City Deer Valley Amphitheater, UT
Aug 21: Boise Botanical Gardens, ID
Aug 22: Spokane Northern Quest Resort, WA
Aug 26: Woodinville Chateau St Michelle, WA
Aug 27: Woodinville Chateau St Michelle, WA
Aug 28: Troutdale Edgefield, OR
Aug 31: Bend Les Schwab Amphitheater, OR
Sep 01: Jacksonville Britt Pavilion, OR
Sep 04: San Francisco AT&T Park, CA

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.