Chumbawamba - Pass It Along
A song from a band with some of the strongest integrity in the music world today. You can (legally) download this song from my site here, or alternatively directly from the band's website. The following is the Press Release which accompanies the track.
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As the MP3/Napster/file sharing debate continues British band Chumbawamba have entered the fray; the Leeds anarchists have produced a song which is available as a free download and samples opponents of file sharing. Metallica, Eminem, Dr Dre, The Beatles, Elvis and Madonna are among the artists who are appearing (without permission) on the song, which is a reaction to the hokum that opposing file sharing is somehow linked to artistic integrity.
Available only on the internet, "Pass It Along [MP3 mix]" is Chumbawamba's reply to the hot air being spouted by millionaire pop stars and record executives. Laughing outright at the assertion that MP3 and file sharing is killing music, Chumbawamba vocalist Dunstan Bruce said:
"What? Killing music the way that home taping killed music in the seventies? It's not passing music around for free which is killing music, but the industry which is stifling creativity by only ever thinking in terms of dollars and pounds.
"This is about commerce rather than art or integrity. When Metallica's Lars Ulrich said that he was objecting to his art being traded like a commodity, he was lying. What Ulrich was objecting to was his art NOT being traded like a commodity from which he could reap the lion's share of the profits.
"If Ulrich, Madonna and Eminem had never sold any records and were worried about entering a poverty stricken old age, then their determination to stop their music being passed around would be understandable - but what we're seeing is some of the richest popstars in the world making the biggest stink about not being able to screw every last penny from their adoring fans. When Elton John and Paul McCartney start complaining about file sharing it's difficult to read their statements as anything other than greed. After all, file sharing is hardly going to have an adverse effect on their standard of living.
"And it's hilarious listening to the big record companies bleating on about how file sharing is damaging art," added Bruce. "They wouldn't recognise art or artistic integrity if it bounded over and bit them on the arse. Time Warner's President, Richard Parsons recently said that young people no longer buy albums and a generation are growing up with the notion that music should be for free. The real truth is that record companies have been screwing the public for years and they're now terrified that they might lose the odd dollar here and there."
