Iggy Pop Warns Of 'Public Rip-Off Of Music' In U.K. Lecture

Iggy's Down On Free Music

IGGY POP held forth on the subject of free music in a capitalist society as the keynote speaker for this year's BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC JOHN PEEL LECTURE in MANCHESTER.The MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS reports that the punk icon and ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME inductee opened the annual festival warning against the "public rip off" of music.

"Part of the process, when you buy something, from an artist, it's a kind of anointing, you're giving that person love.  You are giving a lot of yourself aside of money.  But now, everybody's a bootlegger, just not as cute, and there are people out there just stealing the stuff and saying don't try to force me to pay.  And that act of thieving will become a habit and that's bad for everythig. So we are exchanging the corporate rip off for the public one. Aided by power nerds.  And now the biggest bands are charging insane ticket prices or giving away music before it can flop, in an effort to stay huge. And there's something in this huge thing that kind of sucks."

The speech was taken in by an audience of radio DJs and music stars, including NEW ORDER's BERNARD SUMNER, STEPHEN and GILLIAN MORRIS, former SMITHS drummer MIKE JOYCE, and PULP frontman JARVIS COCKER.

The 67-year-old singer, who started with THE STOOGES before going on a solo career where he worked with DAVID BOWIE and others, insisted that he was never in music for the money. "In truth when it comes to art, money is an unimportant detail.  A good LP is a being, not a product, it has a life force, a personality and a history just like you and me.  I only ever wanted the money because it was symbolic of love and the best thing I ever did was to make a lifetime commitment to continue playing music no matter what, which is what I resolved to do at the age of 18.

"If who you are is who you are that is really hard to steal, and it can lead you in all sorts of useful directions when the road ahead of you is blocked and it will get blocked. Now I'm older and I need all the dough I can get. So I too am concerned about losing those lovely royalties, now that they've finally arrived, in the maze of the Internet. But I'm also diversifying my income, because a stream will dry up. I'm not here to complain about that, I'm here to survive it."

He added: "If I had to depend on what I actually get from sales, I'd be tending bar between sets."

He advised young people to study, listen to as much music as possible, and "stay away from drugs ... and talent show judges".

Other speakers at the event include music DJs MARVIN HUMES, KATE LAWLER and Australian DJ MEL GRIEG, whose Royal prank phone call two years ago resulted in a LONDON nurse killing herself after thinking it was QUEEN ELIZABETH.

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