In this interview with Google Play, Billy brings up some very relevant points about regressions in music as an art form and its influence on culture and society. He also discusses the many struggles that bands face in today’s music business. He stresses how a band’s focus on just creating singles is very record company centric and that it hinders artists from building any kind of integrity. Overall, he seems very concerned by the lack of “great bands” since the 1970s. To him, they are few and far between and people are more likely to name Led Zeppelin as a great band instead of naming a more contemporary musical act.
More importantly, he mentions how it is a social crime that music as an art form has become an accessory or a good. He also states that due to the mass commercialization of music, its cultural impact is no longer there since people cannot emotionally connect to something inauthentic. To him, the proof of this phenomenon can be seen in the lack of record sales across the board.
In terms of the music industry, he calls it “one of the biggest business failures in the history of mankind”. He also attributes the lack of progress in music and its forms of distribution (especially compared to movies) to the constricting and protective nature of record labels.
On current trends, he calls for a change in the way people support their favorite bands. To him, it is equally important to financially support artists for the music that they create and for fans to be proud of doing so…that it is not a “dirty” thing to do.
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The Smashing Pumpkins – 1979 (Menegaux Short ReDrum)
The Smashing Pumpkins – 1979 (DJ SPIDER/ STEVE1DER/ MR BEST REMIX)
