After a 31-year career together, R.E.M. have split up.
An announcement posted today on the band’s website states, “To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band.”
Rolling Stone reports that the band’s decision was partially due to label politics. Ethan Kaplan, former Senior Vice President of Emerging Technology at Warner Bros. Records, states: “[The label] changed starting last September, and I think the demands on a band now to get a record out were more than [R.E.M.] might have wanted to commit.”
Individual messages from each member, also posted on the band’s site, claim there is no dissonance. “We’ve made this decision together, amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart,” states Mike Mills. “The time just feels right.”
