Noel Gallagher of Oasis Speaks Out on Piracy
Noel Gallagher from the 50 million-selling band Oasis has been chatting about piracy on the UK’s Radio 1. He jokes about mainstream journalists asking him about non-existent leaks from the new album and encourages everyone to download the music of rival bands. Overall, he’s pragmatic and upbeat, looking forward to filling his swimming pool with mineral water.
Sooner or later, this type of article will cease to be news. In fact, so many artists are speaking out about file-sharing in a positive or at least pragmatic way that by this time next year, we’ll probably be writing about artists who don’t have something to good to say, such is the shift in attitudes towards P2P.
Big names like Nine Inch Nails, 50 Cent, Joss Stone, Duffy and Travis have all had positive things to say recently.
But before supporting file-sharing becomes mainstream and we don’t have to report it anymore, Noel Gallagher from the 50 million album-selling band Oasis has been chatting with Zane Lowe from the UK’s Radio 1 about many things, including (of course) file-sharing.
Whilst discussing the forthcoming Oasis album, Gallagher notes that a reporter from a UK national newspaper called him, explaining that the tracks had already been leaked onto the Internet:
“I had a guy from a national newspaper track me down and say ‘Have you got any comment to make? All of your new album has come up on the Internet!’ and I was going, ‘It’s impossible, it’s ludicrous’, because only four or five people had copies. So I said ‘Read out the song titles that are up on the Internet’ and he read out the track-listing from the last album! So I was like, ‘That’s on the Internet is it? It’s also in HMV – in the ‘O’ section…..you idiot.”
So, how would Noel have felt if the tracks from the new album had really leaked onto the Internet? Would he get angry?
“No, it’s one of those things,” he told Zane. “If it’s out there and you can get it, you know, go ahead. I’m certainly not going to get into Lars Ulrich mode about this.”
Unlike singer Duffy, who has been enjoying downloading for some time now, Noel doesn’t partake himself: “It’s well documented, I don’t even have a computer and I don’t get involved in that type of gear,” he told the Radio 1 host.
But what does Noel think of other people sharing music via P2P?
“If people are willing to have faceless CDs like that in their collection, good for them. It would be absolutely ludicrous for a rock-star to demand that people pay money for albums because the kids haven’t got that much money to pay for an album, so if they can find it for free, go ahead! But don’t do it on Oasis records though – because that’s against the law.”
Not missing a chance to have a little rivalry with other UK bands, he encourages file-sharers to look at some other bands instead: “Pinch as many Kaiser Chiefs as you like – and the Pigeon Detectives – but don’t nick any Oasis!”
The new album, Dig Out Your Soul, is out on October 6th 2008. Noel would like everyone to buy it since he says he is “down to my last £4 million”. If that wasn’t bad enough, he says he needs to “keep the Evian water topped up in my swimming pool.”
Thanks to Skid
