Tom Keifer believes people need to be educated on how music piracy directly affects artists – and says illegally downloading music has become the “accepted norm”.
In an interview with American Blues Scene, Keifer says: “I think the problem is lack of revenue because of music being pirated, and that starts to reflect in the art itself. I was fortunate with Cinderella – it was a time when record companies had the money to stay with an artist for multiple albums. Because record companies don’t have as much money to put into artist development, these days they’re looking to them to come in already developed with a finished product.
“Piracy also contributes to those same artists who work their asses off to develop themselves and risk everything not really having any kind of return. Everyone deserves to be paid for their work.
“I think there’s a mindset of entitlement with a certain percentage of the population, but with others, I don’t think it’s intentionally done to harm anyone. People don’t think about it – it’s become the accepted norm.
“I don’t know how that will change. I guess through continuing to educate people and really make them realise that ultimately it affects the art and the quality of the music they’re receiving.”
Keifer’s comments come on the back of Peter Gabriel’s view that labels can work through the current industry turmoil through the generosity of fans.
The Cinderella frontman released his debut solo album The Way Life Goes in 2013 and is currently on tour across the USA.