Iggy Pop recently delivered BBC 6 Music’s annual John Peel Lecture at the Radio Festival in Salford. Taking the reigns from a diverse roster of alumni that features Pete Townshend of The Who, Billy Bragg, and Charlotte Church, Pop’s lecture was an insightful dissection of today’s music industry, how it relates to the industry of the past, and what we’re doing today that will shape the industry of the future, if there still is one.
Readers interested in checking out the whole thing can hear it over on the 6 Music website or read the transcript via the BBC. We have, and it’s very awesome. So awesome that we’ve decided to extract 12 pearls of wisdom from the Godfather of Punk’s lecture that we think will stay with us for a long time.
1. Iggy Pop knows his shit.
Though onstage, James Osterberg Jr is a manic, undulating force of nature, a primate totally at the mercy of his reptilian complex, during his John Peel lecture, he was a consummate music industry professional. His eloquent speech was filled with pearls of wisdom and demonstrated that Iggy Pop really knows his stuff when it comes to music.
He lamented the growing ubiquity of MegaUpload and BitTorrent, hailed the rise of “outlets like Pledgemusic, Bandcamp, [and] Drip”, and made references to the recent expansion of Vice Media and the ongoing dispute between YouTube and the indies.
2. “If I depended on record sales I’d be tending bar.”
While much of Pop’s lecture focused on the detrimental impact that illegal file-sharing has had on music, Pop admitted that if he’s looking to do something in the industry, he doesn’t use album sales to fund it. “If I wanna make music, at this point in my life I’d rather do what I want, and do it for free, which I do, or cheap, if I can afford to. I can. And fund through alternative means, like a film budget, or a fashion website, both of which I’ve done,” he said.
3. “I thought songwriting was about the glory.”
This is the crux of Pop’s lecture. By his own admission, “When I started The Stooges we were organized as a group of Utopian communists. All the money was held communally and we lived together while we shared the pursuit of a radical ideal. We shared all song writing, publishing and royalty credits equally – didn’t matter who wrote it.” But after getting in deep with morally bankrupt managers, screwed over by unscrupulous labels, and hung out to dry everyone else, the Godfather of Punk has hardened. However, during his lecture it became clear that “the glory” is still the ideal all artists ought to be pursuing.
4. There are some good guys out there.
Despite the endless stream of depressing jeremiads being penned by cultural critics, there’s plenty to be optimistic about when it comes to music. “So who are the good guys?!” Iggy asked, “Well there are lots of them. If fact, today there are more than ever and they are just about all indies.” Pop goes on to list all of the good guys who can be found by taking a quick glance around the industry landscape, from Peter Gabriel, to Sir Richard Brandon, who he credits with creating a “superior culture” over at his iconic Virgin Records label.
5. Indie isn’t always dandy.
Pop argues that all that’s really happening right now is the record companies getting their just desserts. They took advantage of artist and consumer alike for near on decades and they’re finally getting screwed over in the digital age. But while Pop looks to the indies as the way it should be done, both morally and financially, there are plenty of independent labels just as unscrupulous as the big guys in the room.
6. The term “power nerd.”
This one’s going straight into the lexicon. While discussing the dispute between YouTube and the indies, Pop introduced us to a magical new phrase. “YouTube’s trying to put the squeeze on these people because it’s just easier for a power nerd to negotiate with a couple of big labels who own the kind of music that people listen to when they’re really not that into music. Which of course is most people,” he explained.
7. “That act of thieving will become a habit.”
While Pop is adamant that “prosecuting some college kid because she shared a file is a lot like sending somebody to Australia 200 years ago for poaching his lordship’s rabbit”, he’s no friend to file-sharing services. In fact, not only is it taking money out of the pockets of hard-working artists, but it’s having a detrimental impact on our culture as a whole. In his own words, “That act of thieving will become a habit and that’s bad for everything. So we are exchanging the corporate rip-off for the public one. Aided by power nerds. Kind of computer Putins. They just wanna get rich and powerful.”
8. U2 are trying to steal love.
Bandcamp and the like are a-okay with Mr. Pop, but he’s not a fan of every novel distribution idea. “The people who don’t want the free U2 download are trying to say, ‘Don’t try to force me,'” he said. “And they’ve got a point. Part of the process when you buy something from an artist, it’s kind of an anointing, you are giving people love. It’s your choice to give or withhold. You felt like they were robbed of that chance and they have a point.”
9. But Thom Yorke is a good ‘un.
If you’re looking for a unique way to release your album, follow the Radiohead frontman’s lead. “I actually think that what Thom Yorke has done with Bit Torrent is very good,” said Pop. “Sure, BitTorrent is a pirate’s friend, but all pirates want to go legit, just like I wanted to be respectable. It’s normal. After a while people feel like you’re a crook, it’s too hard to do business. So it’s good in this case that Thom Yorke is encouraging a positive change. The music is good. It’s being offered at a low price direct to people who care.”
10. “Not everybody is meant to be big. Not everybody big is any good.”
This is an important one to remember any time you find yourself despondent over a favourite band who should be big, but just can’t seem to get there. During his lecture, Pop reminisced over a conversation with the late Johnny Ramone: “Johnny asked me one day, ‘Iggy, don’t you hate Offspring and the way they’re so popular with that crap they play? That should be us, they stole it from us.’ I told him, ‘Look, some guys are born to be the captain of the football team and some guys are just gonna be James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, and that’s the way it is. Not everybody is meant to be big. Not everybody big is any good.”
11. “If you’re an entertainer, your God is the public. They’ll take care of you somehow.”
If you’re an artist wondering why you’re big break hasn’t come yet, maybe you’re in the wrong business. “Look, Howling Wolf would work for a sandwich,” said Pop. “This whole thing started in Honky Tonk bars. It’s more important to do something important or just make people feel something and then just trust in God. If you’re an entertainer your God is the public. They’ll take care of you somehow. I want them to hear my music any old which way. Period.” However, he admits, “While you’re waiting for God to show up, try to find a good entertainment lawyer.”
12. “It’s the ending that counts, and the best things in life really are free.”
As his final piece of advice to artists and musicians, Pop urged them, “Stay away from drugs… and talent judges. I’d like you to do better than I did. Hang onto your hopes. You know what they are. Because that’s who you really are, and if you can hang around long enough, you should get paid. It’s the ending that counts, and the best things in life really are free.” So focus on your art, get really good at it, fall in love with it, and find people who love it as much as you. Do it, ’cause Iggy Pop said to.
