Showing posts with label Ray Luzier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ray Luzier. Show all posts

8 January 2015

KORN DRUMMER DOESN'T LIKE PIRACY


Ray Luzier, drummer with Nu-Metal Icons KoRn, isn't happy. Ray Luzier, ladies and gentlemen, isn't happy with music fans pirating KoRn records.

The drummer claims that modern fans don’t see downloading as stealing, nor seemingly value music on a monetary level:

The thing is, with the newer generation, the kids don't really understand that it's taking or stealing. They're, like, 'What? I'm at your freakin' show.' And I'm, like, 'Yeah. But our record's ten bucks.
The “I go to shows” view, while founded on the good intentions of giving money direct to bands not to record labels, has been debated  many a time already. As long ago as 2010, Shay Blay of middle-of-the-road metalcore band Oh, Sleeper, broke down live costs to show that there isn't much money in touring because there’s more to a live show than the band. If nothing else buying CDs shows booking agents that band can pull a crowd and so they get bigger shows, as Misha Mansoor states in this interview from Guitar Messenger (and also points out that even as recently as 2012 Periphery weren't making all that much money.) It’s like any job. Your CV shows what you've achieved and what you can bring to the table... or in this case how many people you can bring to a show. Buying merch doesn't seem to help much either. Most Record companies take cuts of Merch sales these days because no one is buying music any more, Sumerian Records being one of the few companies who don’t. Basically making money in music is hard no matter how you look at it. That’s why some people don’t bother trying to monetise it.

There is another, more personal, side to these complaints. As Luzier continues:

…we work hard on our records, man. We don't sit in the studio and waste time. It's, like, you pour your heart and soul and your blood and all this stuff into this recording
To Luzier it seems the willingness to pay for music is a sign of respect for that artists work. I guess you could liken it to doing a sweet backflip through a ring of fire and no one caring. You took a lot of time and effort into learning how to do a sweet backflip and you damn well want the recognition for doing it.

On the flip side to Luzier’s point there are many artists who will happily give away their music for free and there are lots of good reasons for wanting to do this. Perhaps they would rather people come to shows and buy merch, though most bands who do this are smaller and tend not to need to pay back huge Record Company loans. I say all power to them, I think it’s a really cool thing to do (If nothing else it gives me a weekly article to put out.)

As far back as Lars Ulrich’s campaign against Napster, bands have been struggling with income losses from bits and bytes damaging physical album sales. This is nothing new and the Metallica drummer’s unpopular crusade didn't exactly stem the tides. Luzier seems to realise this, saying:

But, whatever. We're not gonna stop it. It's technology. I get it. I'm just saying, to the fans out there, if you really love your art and people you support, go buy the freaking record. How hard is it?
Ultimately he makes a solid, if defeatist, point. Support the bands you love. I think most people would agree.

As a side note I doubt KoRn are being effecting too badly. I'm sure the bands upcoming tour with Slipknot will pay a few bills and indeed the Drummer seems to imply as such:

…there's people flocking to [our] shows. We're not going anywhere
I’m sure such news will infuriate some and sooth others.


[Quotes courtesy of Blabbermouth.net]