Townshend Brands iTunes a 'Digital Vampire'

lukin2006

Pete Townshend Brands iTunes a 'Digital Vampire'

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/news/Town ... ull_skip=1

Pete Townshend is no fan of Apple's iTunes. Delivering the first John Peel Lecture, named in honor of the influential British radio broadcaster, Townshend said iTunes should offer some of the services to artists that record labels and music publishers used to provide, such as employing talent scouts and paying smaller artists directly.


The Who's Pete Townshend on Monday branded Apple Inc.'s iTunes a "digital vampire" that profits from music without supporting the artists who create it.

Townshend said that faced with the Internet's demolition of established copyright protections, iTunes should offer some of the services to artists that record labels and music publishers used to provide. These include employing talents scouts, giving space to allow bands to stream their music and paying smaller artists directly rather than through a third party aggregator.

The guitarist was delivering the first John Peel Lecture, named in honor of the influential British radio broadcaster who died in 2004.

Townshend asked if there was any reason iTunes "can't provide some aspect of these services to the artists whose work it bleeds like a digital vampire" to make money.

ITunes declined to respond to Townshend's comments.

Apple's service is the market leader among legal download services, accounting for about three-quarters of music downloads.

Townshend said consumers, as well as the industry, needed to change their attitude to digital music.

"It would be better if music lovers treated music like food, and paid for every helping, rather than only when it suited them," he said.

"Why can't music lovers just pay for music rather than steal it?" he said.

tcab2880

Dear Pete,

How about you not charge over $100 per ticket just to see half of The Who...

Sorry Had to say it...

LukinFan

tcab2880 wrote:

Dear Pete,

How about you not charge over $100 per ticket just to see half of The Who...

Sorry Had to say it...

quimby20

Hey Pete,

Where were you when Metallica was waving this flag?????????? Opps........ Sorry, you were investigating Child Pornography!!!!!

Who Princess

This was only a part of the lecture but naturally it was the part that all the news stories jumped on. :roll:

dottles

Chris TT wrote an interesting piece about this -

http://christt.com/words/

Who Princess

dottles wrote:

Chris TT wrote an interesting piece about this -

http://christt.com/words/

I enjoyed reading that, especially this comment:

They should pick outstanding individuals, not aim for constancy of content – and Pete Townshend was an uncomfortable, unique visionary in his day. But it would’ve been fabulous if he’d chosen an aspect of his music-making, rather than a discussion about the processes of commerce, to talk to us about. Anything from tinnitus to songwriting to guitar effects pedals would’ve been better.

So in future, hopefully the music industry lecture series in John Peel’s name will be about music, rather than industry.