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    Pete Townshend brands iTunes a 'digital vampire'

    AP – Mon, Oct 31, 2011

    LONDON (AP) — 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.

     
    • Sugarman
      Sugarman  •  6 mths ago
      I would never steal music. I love it too much, and I want to see musical artists thrive.

      However, as a 51 year old, I have bought the same albums on 33LP's, on 8-tracks, on cassette tapes, and on CDs, and never once got a discount from any record company or artist for purchasing the upgraded technology of the same recording I already owned, so that I could listen to my music as the previous technology was phased out. Now that we have reached a level of digital sophistication in music recording and distribution, I wonder what way the musical establishment will find to make me pay yet again for the music I currently own and enjoy?
    • Just Me
      Just Me  •  6 mths ago
      "ITunes declined to respond to Townshend's comments."

      Maybe they should have asked Apple for a comment instead of a piece of software ;o)
    • Brian J
      Brian J  •  6 mths ago
      Pay for music each and every time I listen to it? What's next a 'memory' tax?No,absolutely not.That sort of attitude is why there is digital piracy in the first place.
    • Free Fire Wire
      Free Fire Wire  •  6 mths ago
      Record companies are the vampires.They're the ones who scam the artists and pay them nothing to control them.
    • World Citizen
      World Citizen  •  6 mths ago
      How does it not support the Artist when you have to pay for the downloads. Is Pete not getting his royalties?
      • Steven
        Steven 6 mths ago
        The point is that Apple keeps the money you pay for a downloaded song, not shared with the artists.
    • MJ
      MJ  •  6 mths ago
      Considering that an album should cost no more than $5 if you are just downloading it and getting ZERO HARD MATERIAL. At times, the music industry can suck it they are so greedy. An album used to be $12.99 and you got an album, paper sleeve, and album jacket. Now they want $17.00 or more and you get a digital down load. Big whoop!
      • World Citizen
        World Citizen 6 mths ago
        Inflation and just because your not getting a piece of plastic their are other cost factors involved such as the programming needs to make this available to you and those website aren't free. Its just an exchange of one type of cost of goods sold to achieve a product to another. It maybe cheaper to buy the CD.
      • MJ
        MJ 6 mths ago
        WC... I agree that there are costs in the digital world, but the entire cost to distribute say 5 million copies of a digital album is a fraction of the cost of making a hard copy, shipping it and selling it at a brick and mortar store. There should be no reason that albums cost more than about $5-$6 in digital format. And if they were that price, I would buy 10-20 digital albums a year...
    • Gambling man
      Gambling man  •  6 mths ago
      The Music Industry was told about Mp3s long ago and they laughed at the idea of music from the internet.
    • two times ten
      two times ten  •  Troy, United States  •  6 mths ago
      musicians should start making albums with more than two good songs on them again.
      • Forsaken
        Forsaken 6 mths ago
        This is the absolute reason why folks steal music or just buy the tunes they like. Why buy dreck?
      • Richard
        Richard 6 mths ago
        Two? Some don't even have that. :-)
    • phil
      phil  •  Winston-Salem, United States  •  6 mths ago
      I buy what I want on Itunes...wish I could do the same with Cable TV.
      • Pam
        Pam 6 mths ago
        buy an apple tv, you'll love it. you can buy almost everything that appears on cable even premiums like HBO, plus it has netflix and runs off itunes on your computer
    • KeeptheShuttle
      KeeptheShuttle  •  6 mths ago
      Well here's a thought for Townsend and others like him. Why don't they form their own company that will do everything they want and protect the rights of artists. Doesn't seem that complicated to me.
      • MichaelA
        MichaelA 6 mths ago
        Especially when you have zillion dollars.
    • Gustavo
      Gustavo  •  Guatemala City, Guatemala  •  6 mths ago
      Mr. Townshend's asks why can't we pay for music. Ohhh! belive me we do! And the music industry treats us. (The music lovers) like garbage. The price of music has increased about 75% in the last 5 years. And if you are not fortunate to live north of the Mexican border, you don't get any options, you can't buy MP3 you either buy the whole thing (the hard copy CD) or you can't have it. Meaning, your money is no good unless you pay more. Don't complain about the consumer, #$%$ to the real vampires, your loved music industry. And remmember, with out US, (the music lovers) you'd be starving!!!
    • kitsy-chan
      kitsy-chan  •  Toronto, Canada  •  6 mths ago
      When recording tapes came out, the record company was so offended, oh my gosh people can record music off the radio... this is horrid... went on rampages to stop that from happening, raise taxes on tapes do what ever they could to... get their profet..... then CD's became common place, and again OH MY GOSH people can copy their records and tapes to CD.... this is horrid we can't make any money... so taxes were put on cd's to try and make them to expensive and or recover money for the record companies... Now its ITunes and internet music... The truth is, the record companies are so far behind reality... That they see any new tech as a threat to their money... Maybe its time these multi-billion dollar companies and preformers who spend 50,000 on a pair of shoes, start rethinking things.
    • Laura
      Laura  •  6 mths ago
      I'd like to speak on behalf of recording artists who actually AREN'T made of money. I was signed to a major label deal one year ago, and have spent 10 months out of the past year on the road, traveling near and far, trying to promote myself. I barely make enough to cover my bills. It really isn't all glitz and glamour. It's hard work, and we are trying to give something worthwhile and lasting to those who choose to listen to our music. I have no clue what needs to be done in order to fix the industry, but please don't make irrational comments about all of us "being filthy rich," and how you deserve to have music given to you, "because you are on a budget." So are we. You wanna help out the musician and not the big music companies? Here's what you do: go to their show, buy their merchandise directly from them. Then you've acquired your music, and helped the artist out more than if you had bought it through iTunes. We actually benefit more from you buying it directly from us than we do if you buy 10 copies digitally. But YOU don't work 10 months at your job and shrug it off when you don't get a paycheck...why should we?
    • Bad Timing
      Bad Timing  •  6 mths ago
      Pete,Ask the promotors to stop charging $80 for the cheap seats at your concerts and get back to me.
    • Aaron
      Aaron  •  Norco, United States  •  6 mths ago
      As much as I love The Who, I have to disagree with Townsend here. Didn't iTunes have to get an agreement with the record companies to sell the albums in the first place (which is why it took so long for them to be able to sell The Beatles' catalog)? This should still be in the record companies court, since they're still doing all the publishing. iTunes is just like any other record store and I don't recall Tower Records doing any talent scouting. However, most record stores would let you listen to music through sampling stations (or you could ask an employee to put it on for you). Doesn't iTunes let you preview music and offer suggestions based on your previous purchases? I don't think Pete uses iTunes much.
    • Umlaut
      Umlaut  •  6 mths ago
      iTunes means it's back to the pre-Beatles days for musicians: want to get paid? Play live. The recorded music is just an advertisement for the tour.
    • MichaelA
      MichaelA  •  6 mths ago
      Facebook is an internet vampire.
    • Prometheus N Fredd
      Prometheus N Fredd  •  Sacramento, United States  •  6 mths ago
      When I heard the song on the radio I liked it and bought the 45. I liked it so much I bought the LP. I wanted to take the song with me I bought the album on 8 track tape. They did away with 8 tracks so I bought the album on cassette tape. No more cassettes so I bought the CD. Now I am told I need to download the song on itunes. How many times do I need to pay for the same song before I own a copy for my own?
    • Smokes
      Smokes  •  Greensboro, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Maybe Pete is not getting many folks buying his tunes anymore?Most Who fans already have the albums.
    • K Mac
      K Mac  •  Pleasanton, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Typically, a CD sold through retail nets artist from $0.30 to $1.00 and the label from $1.00 to $1.70. The same album sold through iTunes nets the artist $0.94 and the label $5.35. If there's any argument to be made here, it's between the artists and the label. If Townsend owned the rights to his music, then he could make 5 times as much on iTunes.
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