Kid Rock boycotts iTunes over pay
« SIREN Music Festival | main | Studio – Yearbook 2 »
"I don’t mind people stealing my music, that’s fine
- but I think they should steal everything"
Kid Rock
US music star Kid Rock is refusing to put his albums on iTunes because he says artists do not get paid enough for downloads from the Apple store.
Kid Rock is one of the last few acts not fully signed up to the service.
He said it was based on "an old system, where iTunes takes the money, the record company takes the money, and they don’t give it to the artists".
His latest album Rock ‘n’ Roll Jesus went to number one in the US last year, despite being absent from iTunes.
The Beatles, Garth Brooks and AC/DC are the only other major stars who have still not made their music available on iTunes.
"Back in the day, we all know the stories of the Otis Reddings and Chuck Berrys and Fats Dominos who never got paid," Kid Rock told the BBC News website.
Kid Rock – All Summer Long
(Rock am Ring 2008)
"So the internet was an opportunity for everyone to be treated fairly, for the consumer to get a fair price, for the artist to be paid fairly, for the record companies to make some money."
But they stuck to the "old system", he continued.
"I will be on iTunes eventually because I can’t avoid it, but I like to always stick to my guns and prove a point and do something original and because I believe in it."
His new single All Summer Long has, though, just been made available on iTunes in Europe and will be downloadable in the UK soon
