The ever-entertaining Noel Gallagher has weighed into the U2 album giveaway controversy, laying out a hypothetical scenario wherein the music industry has changed to a point where the next Coldplay album will be hand-delivered to fans by Chris Martin and come with some complimentary housework and an extra ten bucks.
Speaking with BBC Radio 4, via NME, about U2’s probably ill-conceived giveaway of their latest record Songs Of Innocence, Gallagher said he didn’t agree with the concept of music being given away for free, given how expensive it is to make a record. “Look, [U2] obviously don’t need the money, good for them, but it’s not something that I would ever consider,” he said.
In terms of the shift in music distribution methods in the industry Gallagher signalled out Radiohead’s 2007 album In Rainbows, which could be purchased for any price by fans online, as the start of the trend. “It remains to be seen how Coldplay react to it,” he continued before going ahead and outlining his prediction of how Coldplay will deliver their recently announced seventh and possibly final studio album, A Head Full of Dreams.
“I firmly believe we’ll all get a knock on the door at some point over the next two years and Chris [Martin] will be stood there. And he’ll say, ‘Alright man, you know, here’s a Coldplay album.’ And you’ll go, ‘Thanks.’ And there’s a ladder and he’ll say, ‘Bass player’s just fixing the guttering, Johnny’s round the back, he’s doing the gardening and I think Will’s going to put the recycling out, so enjoy.’ And then he’ll come back and say, ‘Oh, I forgot – here’s a tenner.'”
“Who knows what’s going to happen,” added Gallagher. “But for the record, no-one’s getting anything out of me for free.”
While others criticised U2’s giveaway for devaluing music, Gallagher wasn’t so critical on that front, claiming their actions don’t affect the value of his own music. “It doesn’t undermine the value of my music, no, so does it undermine the value of theirs? I don’t know,” he adds. “A lot of people go to see them live and they’re brilliant. If anything, they’ve gained two new fans in my sons, who since then have become mega-fans.”
The former Oasis guitarist was on the program for the series Mastertapes, to discuss the making of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, his 2011 solo debut.
