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Tom DeLonge (blink-182): Streaming music = Chinese people killing elephants for ivory

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E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
Yeah, I don't know either.

Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge likes a lot of things like chasing UFOs, making jokes about your Mum, and writing songs about dicks. But one thing he really, really doesn’t like is music streaming services.

Speaking to FL‘s Jody Macgregor about his forthcoming record with sideproject Angels & Airwaves, DeLonge compared the effect that streaming services were having on the music industry to killing an endangered animal. “I tell people condoning streaming is like condoning the Chinese that are killing elephants for their tusks and carving ivory statues,” he railed. “It’s cool to put on your shelf but if you really think about what you’re doing it sucks. Streaming music is doing the same thing to artists – might not be killing ’em but it’s killing the industry. It might be cool for you as somebody that likes music but you’re not really thinking about the effect it has. We’ve got to value our art, you know?”
Click to expand...

I've heard some bad analogies, but that has to be in the top 5.

Waggy.
 
A

Aselith

Member
83571-Blink-182-WTF-gif-Imgur-First-VbnD.gif
 
J

Joe

Member
Why do some people get so defensive when a musician comes out as against music streaming services? There's a weird level of attachment.
 
S

SteveWinwood

Member
sorry we're in the 21st century

its either this or people are pirating your music

you need to make it easy and appealing for people to get your music or they just wont

if you make a quality product people will still buy your physical products, go to your tours, buy your 80 dollar special edition lps or whatever and you can make lots of money off of that

streaming isnt where people give you money, its where people discover your sound so they can give you money through other avenues
 
E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
Joe said:
Why do some people get so defensive when a musician comes out as against music streaming services? There's a weird level of attachment.
Click to expand...

I normally don't. Though I do raise an eyebrow when someone compares it to killing elephants for their tusks.

Chinese people killing elephants for their tusks no less.
 
A

Akahige

Member
Joe said:
Why do some people get so defensive when a musician comes out as against music streaming services? There's a weird level of attachment.
Click to expand...
He compared streaming msuic to killing elephants for their tusks, Im all for musicians using thier msuic how they want to but he said something stupid.

Unless you're talking about other threads in general, if so then yes I agree.
 
H

HereticJ

Member
Interesting all the artists against streaming music happen to mostly all be artists who once made millions on the record industry.

It's good when artists don't make a ton of money, it keeps them honest and grounded compared to this kind of trash. Maybe I'm horribly biased because I listen to a lot of metal and they've never made money. Some of my favorite metal artists work regular jobs and make albums on the side and are far more talented than Taylor Swift or this douche. And they don't complain, they generally put all their stuff online for free any way because they want the exposure and to have some fans so maybe they can live off the work they love. To top it off, they are generally classically trained instrumentalists who've spent more time studying music than most "artists" today who rarely do anything themselves.

TL;DR: I wouldn't mind at all if Tom DeLonge made as much or less than my mother who is an elementary school teacher and graduated from college with a Master's degree with nearly perfect grades. I'd feel pretty okay about that.
 
P

Pop-O-Matic

Banned
Has anyone noticed how most artists who complain about shit like this and piracy are usually once-popular artists who lost relevance years ago?
 
F

FunkyMunkey

Banned
Joe said:
Why do some people get so defensive when a musician comes out as against music streaming services? There's a weird level of attachment.
Click to expand...

Because it's always the rich, well-known ones who do. The artists who are new and trying to get exposure don't complain about it.

It's the classic "taping songs from the radio is killing the music industry" argument except tailored to the modern-day and the artists actually get paid something (very small though) rather than nothing. But most of them actually understand that positive exposure will give them more fans who will buy merchandise, go to concerts, give them radio plays to expand their audience further, and occasionally buy an album. Then you have Swift and DeLonge who already have the fanbase, so they talk shit on streaming, here going so far to compare it to the ivory industry. A pathetic and over-the-top comparison tbh.
 
A

Ayato Kanzaki

Member
Basically the same argument we heard when we bacame able to record music on magnetic band. And when internet allowed downloading MP3s. And yet, the music industry is still there...


I've put on my Xmas wish list a few albums from Nemesea and Delain. Two music groups who I'd have never even heard about, if not for Spotify.


Artists like Tom Delonge can go sulk in the corner. They'll adapt, or they'll disappear, to be replaced by others, but music can never die.
 
E

Extra Sauce

Member
Dude made a shit ton of money over the years (60 million, says the Internet), I guess he can feel the well drying up and is getting nervous about not being able to sustain his lifestyle.
 
M

Max Armstrong

Member
Pop-O-Matic said:
Has anyone noticed how most artists who complain about shit like this and piracy are usually once-popular artists who lost relevance years ago?
Click to expand...
Well duh... how could they afford to make new music and stay relevant when they don't make enough money because of piracy and streaming.
 
L

lazygecko

Member
Yes, it's killing the industry. The record industry. Which does not represent the music industry as a whole, but after countless decades asserting itself I can't blame people for having a hard time shifting away from that mindset.

How do you think the status quo of the music industry felt when records were quickly becoming a common consumer product? Probably not that different from how people within the record industry feel today. But technology marches on regardless.

The music industry tends to have an entire status quo built around certain technological limitations, and that status quo can be revealed as very fickle when that foundation is shaken up by milestones. People who are too dependant on how things used to be are going to raise a ruckus about anything. Wether that be the internet, or compact discs, or casette tapes, or even the concept about physical records if you go back far enough.
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
How is streaming killing the industry anymore than radio? It's basically the same damn thing...
 
D

DedValve

Banned
Terrible analogy. Nobody gives a rats ass about Elephants. Now if he compared streaming music to slaughtering baby penguins for their cute aphrodisiac incense then he would have a valid opinion.

Baby sex penguins > ivory elephants.

This opinion is just as valid as his. Moreso even.
 
R

RedShift

Member
Saw Blink-182 play at a festival this summer. Boy that was depressing.

I can see how an act that's so appalling at live shows would be worried about the way the music industry is going though.
 
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