The Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger has shared his thoughts on the changing music landscape and the rise of streaming.
Earlier this month, the British rock legends announced their new album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ and shared details of first single ‘Angry’.
The veteran rockers’ 24th record will be their first of original music since 2005’s ‘A Bigger Bang’.
Speaking in a new interview with Q host Tom Power on CBC radio, the frontman reflected on the new album and the music landscape it will be coming out in, sharing that he believes the band’s longevity has been in part thanks to “staying abreast of what’s going on”.
“I’m not saying I’m slavishly trying to be at the cutting edge of everything, but you have to understand how things work, you know, in the current world,” he sad. “And that doesn’t just apply to the music industry, it applies to lots of things.
“I mean, you know, driving a car is a different experience than driving a car in 1960. And the record business, like all businesses, it changes a lot. I mean, the record business being a business of technology, it never stays the same. It never stayed the same ever.”
Jagger also reflected on the transition from vinyl to cassettes, CDs and now streaming.
“Albums by pop acts did not sell,” he said. “What did sell was show albums like ‘South Pacific’.…Frank Sinatra might sell albums.…And then suddenly, the Beatles came along, and they started selling pop albums. So it was a huge change.”
He added that while streaming is “much maligned”, “the interesting thing about it is that people of all generations can access music from all periods”.
“Before, if I wanted to, you know, buy an old blues record from 1955, that was really difficult. I had to do a mail order; I had to go into a specialist’s shop, even though I had plenty of money. To go and buy it now, I can just – there it is. It’s right there. So what does that mean? Well, that means that kids of 16 can access anything they want.”
‘Hackney Diamonds’ has 12 tracks which will include features from Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Stevie Wonder, while two tracks feature late drummer Charlie Watts.
Even with a new record on the way, Jagger recently revealed that The Rolling Stones are already at work on their next full-length album.
