"I made an incredible deal with Spotify when it was two weeks old": Toto songs are now played three million times a day on Spotify and Steve Lukather seems pretty happy with that

As gear up for their upcoming Dogs Of Oz tour, guitarist Steve Lukather has been on promotional duty, speaking with newspapers and TV shows around the globe, and it seems things are going well. During an interview with , Lukather is asked about the band's increasing popularity with a younger audience (in July 2024, Toto songs were played more than three million times a day, with 52 per cent of those streams attributed to listeners aged 34 or younger – fans who weren't alive when the classic was first a hit). "It’s mind-blowing – is this really happening?” Lukather responds.

"We’ve got an audience that never knew about us before. They just go, ‘I like that song,’ without having preconceived ideas about what it is. Today they have a billion choices, and they choose us.



" With much of the new success due to the continued popularity of which has now been streamed more than two billion times on Spotify – it seems that the usual complaints about compensation from the streaming giant might not apply to Toto. "I made an incredible deal with Spotify when it was two weeks old," says Lukather, who co-manages the band. "But it’s not about the money, though everybody needs money.

I’ve got four kids and two ex-wives, and the taxman takes 50 per cent. I’ll leave it at that." Speaking with Australian TV show to promote Toto's upcoming dates down under, Lukather is asked to explain 's longevity.

"Ask anyone who's ever written a hit song and they'll tell you – if you knew how to do it, you'd do it every time" says Lukather. "Some, you're sure are going to be hits, and they're not. In the case of , I was like 'No way! Are you kidding me? Listen to these lyrics!' We laugh about it now.

" Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! Lukather is also asked about the , which is playing on a continuous loop, apparently for eternity. "We're trying to get a representative of ASCAP or PRS [US and UK rights organisations] to go down there and count the times," jokes Lukather. "So we can get paid.

" The European leg of Toto's Dogs Of Oz tour kicks off at Glasgow's OVO Hydro on February 1, with Australian and New Zealand dates following in April. US dates are scheduled for July and August. Full dates below.

Feb 01: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK Feb 02: Birmingham BP Pulse LIVE, UK Feb 04: Manchester AO Arena, UK Feb 05: London Wembley Arena, UK Feb 07: Brussels Forest National, Belgium Feb 08: Arnhem GelreDome, Netherlands Feb 10: Esch Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg Feb 11: Lille Zénith, France Feb 12: Paris Zénithm, France Feb 14: Lyon-Décines LDLC Arena, France Feb 15: Geneva Geneva Arena, Switzerland Feb 16: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland Feb 18: Stuttgart Porsche Arena, Germany Feb 19: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany Feb 21: Horsens Forum Horsens, Denmark Feb 22: Copenhage Royal Arena, Denmark Feb 25: Oslo Spektrum, Norway Feb 26: Gothenburg Scandinavium, Sweden| Feb 28: Helsinki Espoo Metro Arena, Finland Mar 02: Tampere Nokia Arena, Finland Apr 16: Melbourne John Cain Arena, Australia Apr 18: Byron Bay Bluesfest, Australia Apr 19: Sydney ICC Theatre, Australia Apr 23: Auckland Spark Arena, New Zealand Apr 24: Wellington TSB Arena, New Zealand Apr 26: Christchurch Wolfbrook Arena, New Zealand Jul 18: West Palm Beach iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, FL Jul 19: Tampa MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, FL Jul 21: Birmingham Coca-Cola Amphitheater, AL Jul 22: Alpharetta Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, GA Jul 24: Burgettstown The Pavilion at Star Lake, PA Jul 25: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ Jul 26: Boston Leader Bank Pavilion, MA Jul 28: Gilford BankNH Pavilion, NH Jul 30: Bridgeport Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, CT Aug 01: Atlantic City Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, NJ Aug 03: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH Aug 05: St. Louis Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, MO Aug 06: Noblesville Ruoff Music Center, IN Aug 08: Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center, OH Aug 09: Tinley Park Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, IL Aug 11: Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre, MI Aug 13: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA Aug 14: Charlotte PNC Music Pavilion, NC Aug 15: Nashville Ascend Amphitheater, TN Aug 17: Oklahoma City The Zoo Amphitheatre, OK Aug 18: Irving The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, TX Aug 21: Phoenix Arizona Financial Theatre, AZ Aug 23: Las Vegas Fontainebleau, NV Aug 24: Inglewood Kia Forum, CA Aug 25: Concord Toyota Pavilion at Concord, CA Aug 27: Salt Lake City Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, UT Aug 29: Puyallup Washington State Fair, WA Aug 30: Ridgefield Cascades Amphitheater, WA . Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014.

39 years in music industry, online for 26. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author.

Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović..