Ever since the arrival of Napster and the resulting fallout with Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, musicians have understandably taken issue with illegal downloads.
Now Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has struck out at the digital black market in a statement on his official website.
It seems the guitarist, who formerly played in Savatage and also fronts the Alex Skolnick Trio, had an epiphany while on a gym treadmill, and has defined his stance on the issue.
“My first instinct was to just stand idly by and accept it“, his statement explains. “But then, as I was running on the treadmill at my gym, I thought about it deeply. And I got pissed. I realized I’ve been standing idly by at things my whole life. No more.”
“If the majority of musicians are unable to achieve basic, respectable, economically viable careers, then the entire art form is in trouble.”
Skolnick then posted a message to fans pleading them not to get the album from illegal sources.
“What followed was an overwhelming flurry of activity on the Internet in support of this cause. It’s been a worldwide call to arms. I’ve been joined by fans and musicians of all styles. Some are jazz musicians. Some are metal musicians. A few are in high-profile bands [including Lamb Of God, All The Remains, Devildriver and Unearth].”
“I don’t think it’s asking too much for any of us, Testament or Alex Skolnick Trio, to live off of our recorded music on a basic level. Do you?”
While illegal downloads have certainly shaken the industry, Skolnick may have missed our recent analysis of US music revenue entitled “How Legal Downloads Are Killing Music Revenue”, which explains how legal downloads have also had a significant impact on music sales by giving the option to buy single tracks rather than full albums, and thereby decreasing overall music revenue.
Not to defend illegal music sharing, but will Skolnick attack iTunes next? Probably not.
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