Fleet Foxes Thank Piracy For Success, Pledge To Stay Indie
One of the breakout indie bands of 2008 was Sub Pop's Fleet Foxes, and the band openly credits online piracy for providing both inspiration and a promotional boost for its 200K+ selling debut album.
As much music as musicians can hear, that will only make music richer as an art form," singer Robin Pecknold told the BBC. "I think we're seeing that now with tons of new bands that are amazing, and are doing way better music now than was being made pre-Napster."
"I've downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records – why would I care if somebody downloads ours? That's such a petty thing to care about," says Pecknold. "I mean, how much money does one person need? I think it's disgusting when people complain about that, personally."
On recent rumors that the band was signing to Virgin, Pecknold wrote in a blog post:
"I just don't see the point. Most major labels seem anti-music. We've pursued no such deal with Virgin (or been pursued to my knowledge, I think it was just a bit of news they reported) and would be idiots to be unhappy with our fam of label folks. It is true though that all copies of the CD LP will now include a free copy of the EP (like it is currently with the vinyl), but that's not a 'special limited edition,' it'll be that way in perpetuity, no extra cost or packaging change." (via Exclaim!)
Sigh…
Many props to them for their success, but this whole mentality that stealing music is OK and somehow doesn’t hurt artists is (for lack of a better word), stupid.
Not everyone is a full-time touring musician. Personally, I’m a student most of the year, and release albums when I can. I’m dependent on that income, as are the people I pay to make the album.
In the past have I illegally downloaded? Sure. But about five years ago I realized the error in my ways. The same sort of revelation needs to happen on a wider basis. Piracy is theft. Unless you pull a Coldplay/Radiohead/etc and intentionally release a free album, an artist is trying to make some income from a release. And even in those two cases they used free releases to garner an amazing amount of publicity, thereby increasing album sales of their catalogue.
I feel like a paradigm shift of sorts needs to happen, one that counters the current perception that music is a good that’s somehow unlike any other…that it can be gotten for free. Problem is, it may be too late.
By the deuce, I heard of hypebot from cdbaby’s diy podcast. Def enjoy the content you all post and have subscribed
“Fleet Foxes will never, ever, under no circumstances, from now until the world chokes on gas fumes, sign to a major label. This includes all subsidiaries or permutations thereunder. Till we die.”
They do realize that 49% of Sub Pop is owned by Warner Bros. right? I’m just saying.
Fleet Foxes were good when they were called My Morning Jacket.
“This includes all subsidiaries or permutations thereunder…”
are they not aware that subpop is basically owned by warners and that there album is distributed through warner’s indie arm? how do people not know what deals they’re involved in?
good on fleetfoxes. Downloading is one of those arguments I can never make my mind on. I honestly see the pros and cons on both sides.