Former THE HAUNTED Singer PETER DOLVING Says SPOTIFY Is A 'Ripoff Construction'

AltSounds recently conducted an interview with former THE HAUNTED frontman Peter Dolving. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

AltSounds: What do you think about the new and popular streaming services like Spotify? Do you think it is fair for the artists?

Peter Dolving: Well, this is not even an opinion; It is NOT fair to the artists. ESPECIALLY if they sign the rights to their work away to an outside entity. It's really as simple as that. Spotify etc. are ripoff constructions. There is ONE place that do it right, and it's Bandcamp.com. True story.

AltSounds: There's still a great discussion about how damaging that music piracy has been to the music industry and to the artists that try to sell their work. Do you think illegal downloads can help people to discover bands and records they would later buy merchandise, go to gigs or even buy original albums?

Peter Dolving: I think the whole argument is bullshit. People share music. It's just something we do. The problem is that the market is completely oversaturated with product. The record companies are responsible for this. They inflated the concept of what being a working musician meant in order to intensify the competition, and maximize profits. They've systematically been releasing more music than there was ever a demand for since the mid '80s as a way to better control marketing and as a result it's all capsized. When they saw it was getting too heavy of a financial burden the money started getting cut from recording budgets and the artist’s accounts, since they knew they had a fresh line of enthusiastic blue-eyed sons and daughters waiting at the door to take the place of anyone who didn't think being treated like shit was very enjoyable or tolerable. Today, making music is anyone’s game. Any fool can make an OK record and everybody wants to be a"rockstar". And if you have the right attitude and everyone is willing to sell their skills to help out whoever holds the check book...

AltSounds: Well, shit... You go figure, right?

Peter Dolving: As far as consumers, the consumers in general are complete sheep, the majority of them don't really know quality from noise, if it's got a beat and works to fill the void between right ear and left ear, and everyone else is listening to it as well, they're happy as long as it fills out a bunch of other superficial requirements. Social qualities, group-identity, talkability, the music has become less and less important and on an overall general note I'd say I think it's pretty horrific. But there is still amazing music made out there, and there are still people who find it. Personally I believe ideas, music and words will survive this very very very dark passage in cultural-history. It will be know as "the Age of the morons" or "The TRUE dark ages."

Read the entire interview at AltSounds.