Ian Anderson Quotes

I understand that people want to just listen to a track and put it on their iPod, and that's fine, there's nothing wrong with that, but why can't that exist hand in hand with an album? They're such different experiences.

People have got no attention span these days with music - I come from the time where I bought the whole album and listened to it back to back.

Obviously, it's great to know that your music is being listened to.

I've been able to find just as much interesting, exciting music through the Internet and iTunes... The personal interaction is not the same, and I'm not walking out of a store with a physical thing, so there's definitely an element that is lost, for sure.

I have hundreds and hundreds of people from Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Argentina, every day, buying my music and telling me about it online.

Napster is great so long as they put out tracks on there that have been officially released. I don't really mind people downloading my music; I also see it as a compliment. And if you are a real music lover, you want to have the original CD anyway 'cause then you feel more connected to the artist.

I've probably bought ten CDs in my whole life.

Rock and roll music - people want records. For me, it's the whole thing - the package. I don't get satisfaction from buying an MP3.

I don't even remember the last time I bought an album, honestly.

The whole experience of getting an album from an artist you like and listening to it from beginning to end is sort of gone. Now it's piecemeal.

In '77 there was no Internet, there was no Twitter or Facebook, and I think that, without being some old git who hates anything new, people's attention spans are too short. Back then you had 'Top Of The Pops' and 'Melody Maker,' and you had to make the effort to go to a show so that you absorbed the culture of music.

No one really buys records anymore. You can look at sales and do that math real quick. Unfortunately, it's fast food in the music industry. People don't ingest full records anymore.

Look: I download music illegally, if I really want it. But I always then buy the record - I support art.

I pay for all my music.

I don't feel like the album format is sacred anymore, and things have got to change. I don't listen to music in terms of albums anymore. I've got a short attention span.

I mean, I love buying albums, I'm obsessed, but now you just click 'add', don't you? And when do you actually listen to anything? You know, unless you're in the car or you've got time to do that, it's just not the same world any more in terms of concentration.

I think that if they want people to listen to ten or twelve songs, they have to give the listener a reason to listen to ten or twelve songs or to buy ten or twelve and listen to the whole thing instead of just pulling one or two for their iPod or their computer.

The result of a public that has a very high consumption rate and turnover rate is people listen to more music but spend less time with individual bits of music. It's made me more likely to put things up quickly and treat it more like a magazine instead of a novel.

I use iTunes for downloading music, but I always decline when prompted to update this or that new version.

I'm very conscious of people having pretty short attention spans: I know, I'm guilty of it. I'm 17 now: what happens by the time I'm 21, am I a burn-out or something? Will they still listen to my record?

Don't get me wrong: there are aspects of buying music online that I love. Instantly being able to hear a song the moment it crosses your mind? Where's the downside? However, I do feel for those too young to remember the thrill of going record shopping.

Any time that you can give the consumer more of what they want, it's a good thing. I said from Day 1 that the unbundling of the album is a good thing.

My iPod's unbelievable. Seriously. The kids have put most of the music on it, but there's a complete mix of '80s rubbish and current day stuff.

I don't trawl record shops anymore. I usually hear music in bars or at friends' houses.

You can't just release double albums and expect people to sit there and devote their time to it.