R.E.M.’s Mike Mills – HuffPost 3.8.11

Mike Ragogna: Well, you’ve been around for a while in terms of studio albums and the amount of music you’ve contributed to the culture, so do you have any advice for new artists?

Mike Mills: (laughs) Not that might really be of any use. The most important thing, to me, in terms of being in a band or being an artist that has any kind of longevity is to play. The business side of the music world has been turned completely upside down and nothing is as it was even five years ago. But one thing that will never change is that playing live makes you a better musician, builds a fan base, gets people to know who you are, and nothing will really ever substitute for that.