THE CULT Frontman: 'We Don't Think That Music Should Be Given Away For Free'

The Silver Tongue recently conducted an interview with THE CULT frontman Ian Astbury. A couple of exceprts from the chat follow below.

The Silver Tongue: With this new format you're delaying your releases. Is this so the release coincides with the tour, or is there a specific reason for releasing the capsules?

Ian: Well, you know, it's a new way of delivering music for us, so we're pretty much doing it ourselves. There's some stuff in the works. The first capsule, after it was released, we certainly found out very quickly from our audience what they didn't like in terms of the delivery system, regional-coded DVDs and that sort of thing. But we very quickly got up to speed with that for the second capsule. For touring, it's something that we constantly do. It's something that's continuous. We started out as a live band. We're a live rock and roll band. We're already booked through 2012. I mean, there's a whole planet out there. We've booked dates all across Europe. We're constantly working; it's just the nature of what we do. We can't take to much time off. It's a lot of being on the road and in the studio working on projects. The second capsule will come out on this tour, while we're out performing these songs. We're performing "Embers" right now, which is the lead song off of the second capsule, and we're also performing "Every Man And Woman Is A Star", which is from the first capsule. It's interesting, because as we're performing them live they're kind of taking on different forms, and are actually growing during the live performances, it is very interesting. They're as fresh as you can get.

The Silver Tongue: Was there any trepidation switching over to the capsule format instead of adhering to the norm of album tour, album tour?

Ian: Oh, yeah. We feel like albums have become cannibalized. Touring, it feels like the audience has entitlement because most artists come through often, and there are special artists who don't come through ever. Now, there are so many artists on the road, so the actual idea of going to a concert is commonplace. So, engaging the audience based on the content you're putting out as you tour, it forces the artist to work harder. You get to show them what you're actually creating. We aren't looking for a handout from any record label or benefactor to sort this out for me, we're doing it ourselves. We're open to the idea of perhaps making another studio album, if it arises. Right now, we're really focused on the capsule format and the film elements.

The Silver Tongue: I do believe that THE CULT has the fan base to work with the capsule format. And the extra things about the capsules is the live songs and the remixes. Do you see this catching on with THE CULT fans?

Ian: One thing is formatting, but the quality of what goes into the capsules is what matters. I mean, some of our fans have been complaining about the live tracks, like why are there live tracks? Well, those live songs have been performed with the full integrity that goes into recorded works; they're not put there for padding. It is put there because we believe in this music; it gives you an opportunity to see the different live performances and the different interpretations of the music. In regards of the value of our music; we value our music. We don't think that music should be given away for free. You don't go to McDonald's and be given a free hamburger, you know? Can't walk into a gas station and get free gas. A lot blood, sweat and tears goes into the creativity of the music, and I don't subscribe to this current desperate industry panic mode of giving away music for free, nobody asked the artist, and I feel that is incredibly irresponsible. It's not just about the artists, there's an entire community that the entertainment industry supports. So, we're living in a type of society where we expel more music. I understand ripping some things, maybe sharing them with your friends, but the industry is in a freefall, and in a way it's a very dangerous place. The middle ground and marketing man is more interested in marketing pop. The arts are not supported the United States, so you've got to roll up your sleeves and come up with your own solutions, and part of our solution is the capsule format.

Read the entire interview from The Silver Tongue.