Blink-182’s DeLonge slams streaming services

Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves mainman Tom DeLonge has lashed out at music streaming services.

And he says they’re no better than people who kill elephants for their ivory.

He tells FasterLouder: “Condoning streaming is like condoning the Chinese that are killing elephants for their tusks and carving ivory statues. It’s cool to put on your shelf but if you really think about what you’re doing, it sucks.

“Streaming music is doing the same thing to artists – it might not be killing them but it’s killing the industry. It might be cool for you as somebody that likes music but you’re not really thinking about the effect it has. We’ve got to value our art.”

Earlier this month, rocker Mike Tramp said he was happy with streaming service Spotify as it allowed him to reach more fans.

He said: “Piracy has never paid me a penny. How about that? Of course I need to play shows and sell CDs at the shows to make a living, but if I reach 10% more people by being on Spotify and get paid for every stream, then I can call that a success.”

Meanwhile, DeLonge recently received the Best Animation honour at the Toronto International Short Film Festival for his film Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker.

Angels & Airwaves will release their fifth album The Dream Walker on December 9 which ties in with the animated short.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.