Iggy Pop Talks U2′s New Album, Piracy During a Lecture on "Free Music in a Capitalist Society"
Photo by Justin Creedy Smith
Tonight, BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast the annual John Peel Lecture, which features a “notable figure from the music industry” talking about “music and music-related media.” The lecture is named in honor of the late, legendary radio broadcaster John Peel. This year also marks 10 years since Peel’s death.
This year’s lecturer was Iggy Pop. The topic was “Free Music in a Capitalist Society”; naturally, U2′s recent album launch was discussed. Check out the audio here.
He notes that after he decided to give a lecture on free music, “the shit has really hit the fan on the subject thanks to U2 and Apple”. He continued:
The people who don’t want the free U2 download are trying to say, don’t try to force me. And they’ve got a point. Part of the process when you buy something from an artist, it’s a kind of anointing, you are giving people love. It’s your choice to give or withhold. You are giving a lot of yourself, besides the money. But in this particular case, without the convention, maybe some people felt like they were robbed of that chance and they have a point.
While he said that piracy is, ethically, a big deal, he doesn’t think the industry should go on a witch hunt over individuals who have illegally downloaded media.
I think that prosecuting some college kid because she shared a file is a lot like sending somebody to Australia 200 years ago for poaching his lordship’s rabbit. That’s how it must seem to poor people who just want to watch a crappy movie for free after they’ve been working themselves to death all day at Tesco or whatever, you know.
At one point, he discussed why he’s OK having his music in advertisements, primarily citing it as a better option than merely counting on record sales.
If I wanna make money, well how about selling car insurance? At least I’m honest. It’s an ad and that’s all it is. Every free media platform I’ve ever known has been a front for advertising or propaganda or both. And it always colors the content. In other words, you hear crap on the commercial radio. The licensing of music by films, corps, and TV has become a flood, because these people know they’re not a hell of a lot of fun so they throw in some music that is. I’m all for that, because that’s the way the door opened for me. I got heard on TV before radio would take a chance.
He shared memories of the Stooges’ early years, the Ramones, Malcolm McLaren, Elektra Records’ Jack Holzman, and others. Also, he claimed that “almost all the best music” is released on indie labels.
The lecture finishes with some advice:
Dream. Be generous, don’t be stingy. Please. … Life’s a hurly-burly, so I would say try hard to diversify your skills and interests. Stay away from drugs and talent judges. Get organized. Big or little, that helps a lot. I’d like you to do better than I did. Keep your dreams out of the stinky business, or you’ll go crazy, and the money won’t help you. Be careful to maintain a spiritual EXIT. Don’t live by this game because it’s not worth dying for. Hang onto your hopes. You know what they are. They’re private. Because that’s who you really are and if you can hang around long enough you should get paid. I hope it makes you happy. It’s the ending that counts, and the best things in life really are free.
In advance of the lecture, Iggy offered a statement in a press release: “I’ve never given a lecture in my life, but on the day I’m going to attempt a discussion on the subject of free music in a capitalist society. This is a struggle which never ends.”
Iggy’s statement continues:
I get the feeling that John was the kind of guy who would have done his job for nothing, as long as he felt great about it. So we have that in common. Examining his life, I was interested to learn that he found his voice in large part through his wanderings in America. Sometimes it takes strange circumstances to provide a mirror in which to find yourself. Anyway, he’s done a lot to give others a voice, and that’s the most important gift you can give. Here was a person with strong opinions and enthusiasms who wasn’t defined by any system, because of that his show became an exciting location, kind of like a shop that’s a good hang. So it was a social as well as a musical phenomenon.
On October 19, video of the lecture will broadcast on BBC Four at 8 p.m.
Iggy hosts a show on BBC Radio 6 Music on Sunday afternoon. Watch the video for “Lust for Life”:
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