The Daily Swarm

El Paso Times:

I asked Astbury if the Cult, who are without a record label, had been working on material for a new album. The question brought a very blunt answer.

“There will be no new album. I don’t think we’ll ever see a Cult album. Albums are dead. The format is dead. iTunes destroyed albums. The whole idea of an album. Albums were established in the ‘70s and ‘80s and into the ‘90s, but they’ve been dead for a long time. Nobody buys albums. It’s been proven. It’s an arcane format, as much as the 78 rpm or writing sheet music for an orchestra. It’s an old form and, for me, it’s much more about if we have a great song we really believe in, then we’ll record it and release it.”

He’s not ruling out collecting a bunch of those songs into some kind of album and makes clear that his views are in relation to the Cult more than anyone else.

“For me, the idea of making albums is dead. The idea of spending a year and a half in the studio arguing over agendas and trying to fit into a format that’s settled before we started the creative process (is unappealing).

He’s no fan of the Disneyfication of the music industry and doesn’t think video games like “Guitar Hero” or “Rock Band” (which is having a tournament at the Street Fest) are appropriate ways for artists to get their music out there.

“I’ve been talking to some bands and they’ll say, ‘Aren’t you excited for people to discover your music through ‘Guitar Hero’?’ No. That’s not the way to discover music in a contemporary format that’s pop. If you are in the music business, you should consider that as an end result to introduce people to music.”

via Winks Collectibles