David Byrne Worries About Music's Future, In Illustrated Form

If music is a form of art, are all musicians are artists? Short response: Not quite.

Some musicians have unarguably achieved higher forms of 'art' throughout their careers: David Byrne being the kingpin.

The former Talking Heads frontman dabbles in nearly every artistic genre: fine art, music, photography, writing (he contributes to The New York Times and The Guardian), theatre, film, and opera.

Bryne's artwork has been exhibited worldwide, and bike racks he's designed can be found around New York city.

It's obvious Byrne likes to surround himself with fellow creative geniuses: he had a four-year relationship with self portrait artist extraordinaire Cindy Sherman, and has collaborated with/spotlighted the lovable, eccentric musician Annie Clark, AKA: St. Vincent.

Since 2013, Byrne has been on a crusade against streaming music sites like Spotify and Pandora, who he feels are undermining artists by providing exposure, without providing worthwhile royalties.

Byrne hopes consumers will heed his warning to “stop for a moment and consider the effect these services and this technology will have, before 'selling off' all our cultural assets the way the big record companies did.”

Here's what else Byrne had to say about the future of music consumption and the challenges artists face in the digital world.

Quotation above via via theguardian.com.

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