Franz Ferdinand sympathizes with filesharers
Written by Ernesto on February 15, 2006Playboy interviewed Nicholas McCarthy and Alex Kapranos, two of Franz Ferdinand’s band members. The two seem to have a healthy and realistic view on filesharing.
When Playboy asks them what’s there position on the Ipod (which they seem to associate with filesharing) they answer.
NICK: I’m not quite sure. I think if you’re in one place, it’s nice to have an actual album, a record sleeve, the lyrics. So there will always be that element of wanting to own something and not just have a song on a hard drive. But I know I travel a lot - and I’ve always liked to travel light - I don’t like to have a lot of posessions. What I do is buy a CD and stick it in and rip it. Then I can listen to it and have it with me even if I lose the CD or give it away.
ALEX: I like the idea that, because of downloading, people are going to buy songs only if they are good. I think that’s a positive thing. It means lazy bands aren’t going to get away with giving you one hit single and an album full of filler. We like the idea that every song should stand up in its own right so you don’t have to listen to a song in the context of an album to understand it. I suppose that’s why I’m sympathetic to the download environment.
It seems like a healthy view on the music industry today, I hope more artists agree. As we reported before, filesharing actually seems to help less popular artists.
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18 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
Saying they’re sympathetic to the download environment isn’t the same thing as saying they think it’s alright if someone pirates their songs, or anyone else’s. Just means they probably don’t take quite as harsh a stance as the RIAA. However, since artists have little to do with whether or not a lawsuit it brought against someone who illegally downloads their songs or albums, it really doesn’t matter in the end. But I get what they’re saying and pretty much agree. :) I suspect it is why a lot of people want original prints/paintings over reproductions. You just don’t feel like you own the real thing…until you do.
madonna
Yeah, he’s not saying anything about illegal downloads, he’s talking solely about buying songs on iTunes or other online stores. You can buy songs individually instead of the whole album.
S’funny how they go on about “lazy bands” when Dark of the Matinee was a blatant rip off of Handle With Care’s Working For The Man from 1985, even down to the opening percussion. I dare say Led Zepplin would have a few words to say about their recent offering Do Ya Wanna.
Some “LAZY BANDS” just don’t seem to realise that simply changing a couple of notes in a well known riff and covering it with a new melody can not be accepted as simply influence of the original artist but is better explained as LAZY and quite possibly THEFT!
The record companies love this stuff cos they know only too well that if it has sold well before then it will again. All they have to do is market it to a generation who have never heard the original.
Go ahead folks share as much Franz material as you like just don’t pay a penny for it. You would only be encouraging them and the record industry to continue ripping off the “less popular” bands.(or should that be less well represented by the record companies legal team)and , of course the record buying public.
I for one am all for paying to buy a CD if I enjoy it and will always be partial to try before you buy sharing etc. as I do like to have the actual physical product in my collection. If I had not had the chance to here Franz’s first album before I had forked out my hard earned I would have been even more annoyed at the rip off these people are involved in. Needless to say I did not and will never buy a Franz Ferdinand product.
amazing guys i´m going to buy the album
If they give a cd away as outlined above they have broken the law, its not lawful to have a copy of the music on your Ipod and not be in possesion of the purchased material.
Talk about double standards
“The two seem to have a healthy and realistic view on filesharing.” - They don’t mention filesharing once in the text you’ve quoted smh. What they appear to be talking about is the paid-for services and the portability of digital music…..
I have to admit I downloaded the Franz Ferdinand cd before it came out in the country where I live - but I’m a firm believer that if I like the band I will support them by buying their album. I own both their albums, solely because the whole album is good and I like their music. If there was only one or two songs on there that I liked, then I wouldn’t have bought it. I think that’s kinda what the indie rock movement is about, you don’t need alot of money to get your music heard and if its good ppl will buy it!
I think both of the Franz CDs are good and i think anyone who really supports the band should actually buy the album and support the artist. If all of the songs are good, like Franz Ferdinand said, people will buy it. If not, people will download the one song they like rather than buying a whole album for one good song.
Franz is a thief himself, as previously mentioned certain riffs are 2 similar to others from WELL known band from OLDER generations……& besides that they stole the beatle look…..you see in in their clothes, their hair, the video clips…. nothing is new anymore its all just recycled & mixed around…..take KING KONG…the original wouldnt make $1 in cinemas today……but put it thru the car wash add some digital animation & boom….$$$$$…. the idiots who create these law should be shot.
they sell dvd reader/write combo’s for on top of your tv.
watch your new release rental & if you like it burn it too you 200g built in HDD
……i say fuck the world of politics, the internet was created to be FREE….they screwed us outta that, so lets screw them outta some of their $$$ for a change
TRADE ON BROTHERS & SISTERS
Define thief?
People should have the right to use other’s material in my opinion. Creative Commons etc.
Ernesto said…..
“Define thief?
People should have the right to use other’s material in my opinion. Creative Commons etc.”
A “THIEF” is some one who steals others property, be that physical or intelectual.
If someone buys a car and a person takes that car without permission then that is theft, plain and simple.
If some one sits their wallet on a table and someone else happens to notice it and makes off with it then that is theft, plain and simple.
If someone writes and records a song and copyrights the material then someone else comes along hears that recording and re-records it with only minor changes in the arrangement with the intention of obtaining profit from that recording then, like it or not, THAT IS THEFT!!!! Plain and simple!
Why exactly do you think that copyright law, intelectual property law, PRS etc. exist? Why were there major documented cases of litigation in the early days against producers who used too much sampled material in their recordings?
The only reason this has died down now is that the record industry saw the profit that could be made by recycling old material and decided that they wanted a slice of that particular pie.
Creative commons my ass!
If I spend years of my life learning to play an instrument, read music, write an original tune only to have it robbed by some flash in the pan no mark band who are more interested in image than musical ability then I think I am perfectly entitled to charge them with theft and recieve compensation for my losses due to their inability to do the hard work and their blatant disregard for my rights as an artist.
As it stands, filesharing only prevents the record companies from making profit to some extent and it’s the same as when they used to complain about home taping. Everybody did it but if you wanted something physical that would not wear out so quickly, you bought the album.
How many mp3 tracks do you have on your PC which you downloaded, have listened to a couple of times and then never played again? I have a fair number and all they do is eat up hard disk space.
Having listened to them and decided they were not to my liking I would certainly not be rushing out to buy the CD.
If I had bought the CD first then I would be pretty annoyed at the waste of money.
I think filesharing actually helps the record companies out as I have discovered a load of music I would never have been exposed to without the ability to download and have increased my CD collection and payed cash for disks I would never have bought or even heard of previously.
Arctic Monkeys were touted as an internet success story as they made their name through downloads because they gave away free CD’s at their gigs and people either shared these online or uploaded them to legit sites. The band didn’t do the marketing, the filesharers did!
Do you hear them complaining about filesharing killing the industry…NO!
Filesharing gave them a nuber 1 selling album.
Theft is theft but filesharing is in a rather grey area :-)
well, i play 13 years now, and i had something about 10 or more bands. i like to be heard, but what those ppl are doing, that is GREED! a mortal sin!….i used to play for a couple of beers. and what if i hear a song on the radio, that is theft? man, i can barely read musical notes, but give ma the chance to listen to something, 2 times, and i know how to play it(well, the major part of the music today). and about hearing the music over the radio, if you find a car on the parking(with keys in it), and make a ride, that is theft? face it, we all are in crime, even as we sleep. they would even copyright our dreams if they could…if you have any, i don’t…
surely every note in any song has been used before and its the same for words… its just that someone changed them round.. if some one agrees to pay money for something thats just “changed around” whats the prob ? except of course theres always someone who thinks theyre missing out on a quick buck.
i thought the idea of making music was because in your heart you wanted to !!
85 million for robbie williams pml
85p and hes over earnt.
im not surprised by this comment because artists make almost no money on their album sale there income comes primarily from concerts and album advances the album sale are for the record label which is why they are so against file sharing, many artists are just puppets who echo what their labels tell them.
This comment is intended for KAS…
If you are going to make the bold proclamation with you are making (that Franz Ferdinand are stealing) then you have to have some hard substantiation to back up your alligation. When I went to find the “so called” bands, which you referred to as being victims of theft. I.e. “handle with care’s working for the man” I didn’t find any results WHAT SO EVER! And if all you have to work with is a piece of evidence with doesn’t even exist then you are of weak ground to support any case.
You obvious have a very large chip on your shoulder with can’t possibly have to do with the so-called stealing of music. I think you might be envious of Franz Ferdinand…
In closing I’d like to say: GET A LIFE!
yeah..you don’t even know what you are arguing about at the end of your last comment… kas is a fucking prick!!!
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