Julian Casablancas has never been one to pull punches when it comes to sharing his thoughts on the music business, and The Strokes frontman had some interesting observations about the current state of the industry.
In a new interview with Vulture, Casablancas shared his thoughts on the success of major pop stars like Ed Sheeran and One Direction, and his comments probably won't be too popular with Sheerios.
He said that the internet has had a negative effect on how people perceive music, saying: "I thought the internet would help balance the relationship between quality and the mainstream, but it’s gone the opposite way. Quality is being sucked out of music. One Direction will have 4 billion views and the best artists of today will only see a fraction of that attention."
When asked about the popularity of an indie artist like Ariel Pink in comparison to someone like Sheeran, he said: "Everything you’re saying sounds 100 percent like cultural brainwashing... Because if you grew up in a world where Ariel Pink was popular then you would say “I don’t see how Ed Sheeran can be popular.” People grow up with norms knocked into their heads."
He continued: "And I’m not trying to diss Ed Sheeran or any pop star. Ed Sheeran seems like a nice, cool guy and I have nothing against his music. Let him sell a billion records. I’m just saying I don’t understand why there can’t be a world where Ed Sheeran gets 60 percent of the attention and Ariel Pink gets 40 percent. Now it’s almost like Ed Sheeran gets 99.5 percent of it. The creative bands have been pushed so far into the margins."
