Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabrielis an English singer-songwriter, musician and humanitarian activist who rose to fame as the original lead singer and flautist of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, Gabriel launched a solo career, with "Solsbury Hill" his first single. His 1986 album, So, is his best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the U.S. The album's most successful single, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth13 February 1950
CityChobham, England
People go on and on about the copyright issue, and that is central to what is going on now. Someone sent me an article from the Register this morning about this person named Fisher who has proposed an extra $6 per month on every broadband user's bill that would supply enough revenue to pay all the money that is earned from records and films.
We are trying to change things and allow artists to be at the front of the food chain and become their own retailers and keep a big part of the margin. They can get paid directly as the money comes in and they can monitor it day-to-day totally transparent. That is a model that I would like to see adopted by the music business.
More and more people are going to download their music, and if it all stays free and there is no control over the payments, then it will be difficult for younger artists to make a livelihood.
When they had (Nelson) Mandela shows in London the bill was really mixed and I don't think we lost any viewers as a result. African artists are strong, charismatic and compelling, and I think they hold people's attention.
Concerning iTunes, the deals have mainly been done with the record companies. But the artists, with some exceptions, haven't been very well-represented. This is partly because the record companies have largely been copyright owners.
I think another thing is that we don't really want exclusivity. We accept that it is in the artist's interest to be on sale in every place where they sell music.
I stood in this unsheltered place, 'til I could see the face behind the face.
Having lots of people talking highly of you and respecting your art and your work, this is one of the best feelings that you can have.
Artists everywhere steal mercilessly all the time and I think this is healthy.
The rhythm is below me, the rhythm of the heat. The rhythm is around me, the rhythm has control. The rhythm is inside me, the rhythm has my soul.
Music is a spiritual doorway its power comes from the fact that it plugs directly into the soul, unlike a lot of visual art or textual information that has to go through the more filtering processes of the brain.
One thing that really appeals to me is this idea of music being a living thing that has an evolution that, in a way, enables the artist to sell a process rather than a piece of product.
We had some good cameramen, and Hamish Hamilton, who did the direction, is very talented.
From the pain come the dreamFrom the dream come the visionFrom the vision come the peopleFrom the people come the powerFrom this power come the change