Prongin Tommy Victor: ”Menestyksekkäät artistit ovat mielestäni ahneita monella tapaa”

From Hero To Zero haastatteli hiljattain yhdysvaltalaisen metalliyhtye Prongin nokkamies Tommy Victoria liittyen mm. internetin ja kehittyneen teknologian vaikutuksiin musiikkiteollisuuden kannalta. Kysyttäessä harkitsisiko hän ikinä Prong-albumin kustantamista joukkorahoituksella, Victor vastasi:

”That’s a discussion I’ve had recently. Not to say that we’re unhappy with Steamhammer/SPV Records; I mean, they’ve been fantastic with us. But it’s something to look into in the future. I had talks with other artists about it, and some of them say it’s been good, other people say that they failed through it. So I don’t know what exactly we’re gonna do. But it’s something definitely to look into.

”The only thing that may be alarming would be making promises I couldn’t keep down the line, which means, like, meeting up people for dinners and whatever crazy things that they try to use to attract people to fund your project. I know guys that have done that, and [they’re like], ’Oh, yeah, I promised him guitar lessons, and I never did it.’ And I don’t wanna be one of those guys. So if I’m gonna commit to something, I wanna do it.”

Kysyttäessä auttavatko musiikin streamauspalveluja vai onko niistä ennemminkin haittaa, hän vastasi:

”It depends what bracket you are in, financially; that is an issue. I think larger artists are generally greedy in a lot of ways. And when it gets to a point where you’re financially secure for the rest of your life, I don’t see why these guys are really worried about it too much. Not to brag about my lifestyle, but I still rent a room in a house and I live very frugally, and that’s the only way I could survive [while] keeping the band going. I’ve had to make those sacrifices. I think people’s heads get really big. I have no problem with streaming. I’m not really doing this to make a whole lot of money; that’s not really my source of energy with the whole thing. And it’s just a calling, and I do it, and I enjoy what I do, and I keep it simple with the motivation. If people wanna be greedy, let them be greedy, and that doesn’t really apply to my life too much.”

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