JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD: 'I Am Totally Opposed To Illegal Downloading'

Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Classic Rock Revisited: How do you feel about pirating? In the old days I could loan my copy of "British Steel" to a couple of buddies to tape off but now there is the potential for thousands of people to bootleg.

Rob: When the Internet was invented I thought that it was going to be a blessing in one aspect and a minefield in another. To a certain extent it is like when cassette recorders were invented. Next CD burners came about. When the Internet came along everyone went, "Oh God, now what are we going to do?" You are left with a dilemma and a massive problem. It is costing record companies and movie companies billions of dollars. At the end of the day it is a moral issue. If you are real fan of the band then you want to be associated with the original licensed material. You show your fanaticism by buying the CD and the official merchandise and going to the show. It is still prolific amongst the younger demographic. All of their mates have done it so they might as well do it as well. I just saw something the other day about somebody being taken to court over this. The industry is making an example of one person for doing illegal downloads and that is really just a cosmetic type of display. It sends a good message but at the end of the day if you are at home on your computer and you go to MySpace or YouTube and you see a clip then you go, "Oh I've got to get that." The choice is there for you to pay for it or not. The inclination is to say, "Well, it is free." It is wrong. It is confusing on an emotional level. Fans go, "Oh they have millions of dollars. They don't need more money." That is not the point. You can't walk into a big grocery store and help yourself to everything and then walk out and not pay for it just because they have millions of dollars. There is a trickle-down effect; everyone gets affected by it. I am totally opposed to illegal downloading.

Classic Rock Revisited: At the same time record companies have made some terrible decisions. Does the combination between losing money to illegal downloading and running a poor business make an artist like yourself more involved in the business aspect of your career?

Rob: To a certain extent, everybody is in everybody's backyard. There was a separation previously. Record companies are scrambling and Steve Jobs invents iTunes and charges ninety-nine cents for a download — which is not too bad if you look at how many tracks, are on a release. I don't think it is having the right effect though. Then RADIOHEAD puts their music on a site and you can pay as much or as little for it as you want. Everybody has gone fucking mental. I don't know what is going on; we are all so confused. Sometimes I wish the Internet had never been invented — that is just passion speaking. It would avoid all of this confusion and conflict if we were back in the days of vinyl. The ones who are suffering are the young bands. They need to be funded by a record company. They need the resources of the record company, which is a bit like a glorified bank in some respects. The record company pays for recording and gets them doing a bit of touring. Now it has got to the point that labels are so scared that they will sign you but they want a cut of your merchandise, a cut of your publishing and a cut of your touring. It is an absolute panic that the sky is falling. I don't know what the final issue will be or how we are going to solve this. I have heard that the three major labels are combining to go up against Apple iTunes. Everything is different for everybody else. I think you have to look at your own world and what you are looking to achieve and make the most of it and make the best things happen.

Classic Rock Revisited: Metal is your life. You do not go through the motions. Do you think there is a limit that metal should not go into. I am talking about some of the black metal bands. Is there anything in your world that you would say is off limits?

Rob: First and foremost I am a total believer of the First Amendment, which is freedom of speech. I think guidelines are important. I think you don't want to steer people into things they may have difficulty absorbing. I think ratings of some sort are important — particularly for younger minds. You can't stop it. You have to have these moments where it kind of shakes up society or culture. It may be offensive and unpleasant but some of the greatest things have come from those emotions. I believe that nothing is off limits as long as you have some sense of guidelines to prepare somebody for it like an R-rated movie. You know in advance what you are going to be exposed to. As long as there is a heads up then I think everything is doable.

Classic Rock Revisited: I listen to some of the new metal and I think, "I don't know if I want my kids listening to that" which is ironic because it is the same thing my parents did.

Rob: [laughter] I know what you are saying and I think that is commendable. If you have young kids then you protect them. You don't know what the reaction to the exposure might be. Kids think differently than adults. Adults don't think like a child. You are instinctively protective but what you are being protective about may not even need to be protected against because a child's mind is a sponge. It absorbs things but it also disposes of things. I think common sense is the main thing that should prevail.

Classic Rock Revisited: You have had some negative things happen such as the kids that killed themselves and the court case that followed. When things like that happen do they affect you or do you understand you have no control over people's actions?

Rob: I don't think you are ever prepared for something like that. Your whole basis of what you do creatively is very positive and constructive. In your ideals there is no element of negativity or destructiveness. You genuinely believe you are giving people great music to have great times with. When something like that comes your way then you're affected by it. If you are not affected by it then you must have a heart of stone. You are dealing with real people who have gone through real tragedies. If you don't feel that way then that is kind of weird because it is just human compassion to see and hear a story like what PRIEST went through. Life is full of surprises and most of them are pleasant but some of them are unpleasant.

Read the entire interview at Classic Rock Revisited.