Pete Townshend – the washed up guitarist and songwriter of The Who – recently referred to Apple’s iTunes as a “digital vampire.”
Yes, Townshend apparently believes Apple profits from music without supporting the artists who create it.
Umm, what?! Would he prefer that people download music on Torrent sites?
Probably not, but Townshend doesn’t seem to be all that fond of the Internet, as he told attendees at the first UK John Peel Lecture that the web has effectively destroyed traditional copyright protections.
Not only that, but Townshend demanded Apple provide some of the same services to artists that record labels and music publishers used to offer before the industry collapsed along with the rest of the economy.
According to the rapidly aging musician, iTunes could allow bands to stream their music, while paying smaller artists directly instead of making do with a third-party aggregator.
[“Why can’t iTunes] provide some aspect of these services to the artists whose work it bleeds like a digital vampire [to make money]?” Townshend asked rhetorically in a statement quoted by the Associated Press.
But Townshend didn’t just make do bashing Apple. No, he also criticized consumers, claiming the public needed to radically change its attitude towards 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 whined.
“Why can’t music lovers just pay for music rather than steal it?”
