The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney Says U2 “Devalued Their Music Completely”

Mark Venema

The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney Says U2 “Devalued Their Music Completely”

Mark Venema

Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney has earned something of a reputation for talking shit on his bands’ various peers, from Jack White to Justin Bieber. This time, though, you can understand where he’s coming from. Talking to the Seattle Times recently, Carney discussed U2’s big stunt of sending their album Songs Of Innocence to every iTunes subscriber, saying that the move “devalued their music completely.” He also said that the move “sends a huge mixed message to bands… that are just struggling to get by. I think that they were thinking it’s super generous of them to do something like that.”

Carney, whose band has worked to keep its music off of Spotify, also had words for the streaming service: “My whole thing about music is: if somebody’s making money then the artist should be getting a fair cut of it. The owner of Spotify is worth something like 3 billion dollars… He’s richer than Paul McCartney, and he’s 30, and he’s never written a song.”

Counterpoint: U2 devalued their music completely by making a shit album.

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