Jon Bon Jovi: Steve Jobs killed the music business.

[Voyager]

March 14, 2011, 3:41 PM EST
WENN

Jon Bon Jovi has taken aim at Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, accusing him of "killing" the music industry with iTunes.

The rocker is saddened that the "magical" experience of buying records in a store is disappearing, brick-and-mortars stores being eroded in part due to iTunes' success.

Bon Jovi tells The Sunday Times Magazine, "Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it."

"God, it was a magical, magical time," he continues, "I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."

[Saint John]

Jon Bon Jovi is a colossal piece of shit and I hope his tour bus gets hit by a meteor. Steve Jobs didn't kill anything. He revolutionized the music industry and stopped the decade's long fleecing of the fans. We no longer have to pay $15 for a CD with 2-3 good songs on it. Fuck you, Bon Jovi.

[Maui Tom]

Lefsetz replies to Bon Jovi...


That's Steve Jobs. Responsible for the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

Not responsible for broadband, Napster, CD burning, hard-drive swapping and the rest of the elements that contributed to the demise of the old recording industry. As a matter of fact, Jobs was last. Macs came without CD burners. And Rio released the first MP3 player. All Steve Jobs did was make the experience easier and more elegant. And provided a way for the rights holders to get paid via the iTunes Store. Yes, before then, music online was FREE! There was nowhere to pay.

But you know all this.

It's only Jon Bongiovi who does not.

That's what happens when you surround yourself with yes-men, you lose contact with reality. You start to believe you're a grand pooh-bah with all the answers when really you're an uneducated nitwit with too much money and fans lost in the same old century you are.

Too bad Bon Jovi is not informed. If he were, he could make a difference. Instead, he's revealed himself to be in bed with Doug Morris and the rest of the music industry antiques who just don't get it.

I'm not saying an act has to know everything. But if it knows nothing, it shouldn't open its mouth.

Bon Jovi is old school. New school acts are Net-savvy. They have to be, that's where their fans are. You reach people online, you cement the relationship with them via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail... It's much more efficient than the old way. You know who your fans are. And they'll give you all their money if you treat them right.

But like the RIAA before him, Jon Bongiovi wants to place blame. Wants to find a scapegoat for the end of an era. As if overpriced CDs could go on forever.

Yes, in case you missed it, in yesterday's "Times", the English version, Jon Bongiovi said:

"Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."

Funny how when Bongiovi finally decides to say something negative he gets it wrong.

In an era where electric cars are not only imminent, but available, when modern communications allow you to speak to friends across the world for free, Jon Bongiovi is lamenting the fact that we all don't buy vinyl records and get spoon-fed by radio.

The landscape might be murky now. But we're going to a better place. Where bland, written by committee confections like Bon Jovi's work will be the exception instead of the rule.

With one dumb statement Bon Jovi has become a laughingstock. This quote is all over the Web. My inbox is filling up.

What did they used to say in the sixties? You're either with us or against us?

Turns out Bongiovi is against us. He doesn't want more music for more people at a cheaper price, which the Internet affords, he just wants to maintain his private plane lifestyle.

He's what's wrong with America today. Ignorance.

You find it rampant amongst adults.

But not with kids. They read the news all day long online. They know which way the wind blows. They know Steve Jobs is a hero, not a zero.

Kids don't go to see Bon Jovi.

They're into something new. Or something old of value, true classic rock.

It's not Steve Jobs who killed the music business, it's the audience. An audience that had been ripped off for years, sold overpriced junk, who used new technologies to get what they wanted for free. If anything, as stated above, Mr. Jobs should be lauded for establishing a way for rights holders to get paid!

Some day in the future, Bongiovi and Jobs are going to die.

And who do you think will be remembered?

The guy with the feathered hairdo from New Jersey or the college dropout who revolutionized society by providing tools?

That's all Steve Jobs did, provide tools. Now people can use computers to create music, they don't need a rich uncle with a recording studio. Tunecore makes labels unnecessary.

If you don't think we're in a better place now than in the heyday of Bon Jovi then I sentence you to twenty four hours straight of "New Jersey". Hopefully, after that, you'll see the light.

The truth is slippery.

But the key is to keep trying to unearth it, to not be afraid of the future but to embrace it.

Bongiovi is living in a vacuum. And if he keeps coming out with heinous comments like this, his career will be living on a prayer.

[S2M]

Jon Bon Jovi is a colossal piece of shit and I hope his tour bus gets hit by a meteor. Steve Jobs didn't kill anything. He revolutionized the music industry and stopped the decade's long fleecing of the fans. We no longer have to pay $15 for a CD with 2-3 good songs on it. Fuck you, Bon Jovi.

Come up with your own ideas, malaka, I've been saying this for years.....

[hoagiepete]

Conglomo radio and greedy and lazy record companies killed the music indusry.

[Voyager]

Video killed the radio star, then the digital age killed the music business. The Internet and digital duplicating pretty much did it in.

[slucero]

Now people can use computers to create music, they don't need a rich uncle with a recording studio. Tunecore makes labels unnecessary.

That's it in a nutshell.... maybe Jon Bend-over isn't puter savvy....

[Voyager]

Imagine reaching your goals of getting a personal computer in the homes of billions of people worldwide, only to be condemned by Jon Bon Jovi for killing the music business. LOL!

Oh well, at least Steve has Bono in his corner.

[SherriBerry]

Actually, Herbie said something similar about iTunes, because virtually all of the music companies allowed their catalogues to be downloaded to the iTunes library/store and that gives Apple a lot of control in the industry. As long as the artists get paid fairly for their work, that part is not necessarily a bad thing - Steve Jobs came up with an innovative solution to a problem resulting in the Information Revolution, since the Internet was allowing people to download music for free and rip off the artists who weren't getting paid because people weren't buying albums anymore.

I like that new artists can bypass the labels and release their music on the Net without a label like Sony taking most of the money and ownership rights and leaving the artist making a few cents per album. In the BTM interview with TLC, Lisa Lopes noted how the breakdown of the royalties meant they got 56 cents per unit of 'Crazy Sexy Cool' and albums retailed around $18 each then! That was a new artist deal, and hopefully now some artists can build up a fan/power base that gives them some leverage before they sign any deals that leave them with nothing.

Jon Bon Jovi has a point though. While he is completely wrong in blaming Steve Jobs for what has happened to the music industry (let's blame Al Gore instead - didn't he invent the Internet? ), buying an album used to be an experience. The album covers were works of art and it was an experience to wait for it to come to the local music store, bring it home, put it on, and listen to it from beginning to end. Or see something that caught your eye because of the cover and the song titles and take a chance. Granted, I was not impressed to buy one and it turned out that I only liked one or two songs and the rest were a disappointment, but that was rare. Apparently I'm old too - I like having something tangible. I buy the CD and download it to my computer, but I keep the original and the insert with the cover!

[Melissa]

I agree that the experience of buying albums was something pretty neat as a kid/teenager, and it IS sad kids now have no clue about that, but it's also nice to not get charged $25 for a new CD anymore since that's the price they all seemed to make it up to before all this digital stuff now. I still have all my tapes from the 80's

And I guess JBJ is in the minority since it seems a lot of celebs are Apple fanboys/girls.

[Rip Rokken]

I agree that the experience of buying albums was something pretty neat as a kid/teenager, and it IS sad kids now have no clue about that, but it's also nice to not get charged $25 for a new CD anymore since that's the price they all seemed to make it up to before all this digital stuff now. I still have all my tapes from the 80's

And I guess JBJ is in the minority since it seems a lot of celebs are Apple fanboys/girls.

I miss it extremely, and every time I go into a store and see the entire CD section reduced to half an aisle, it's sad. Even Best Buy is down to barebones. I love CD's, love artwork, lyrics, etc. Even CD's changed things for me when they came out -- for some reason I stopped paying as much attention to the names of the songs, and there are still several discs that I never really knew some of them. I had to pay attention to that with albums and cassettes. With CDs, skipping ahead was easy and didn't require looking at the track list if I didn't need to.

Digital music is worse, but at least it's cheap. Plus, the sound quality of digital (even on CD's) can never capture what analog could get. I am getting used to buying some albums digitally now, and have purchased a handful thru iTunes. Working now to get an iPod/iPhone jack rigged up in my car -- it's so much more convenient than hauling around a bunch of CD's.

[Saint John]

I think you guys inadvertently brought up a great point. I'm thinking that The Eagles, AC/Dc and to a smaller degree Journey were able to sell so well with the Wal Mart specials because people feel nostalgic and excited reliving the past by purchasing an actual CD with liner notes and such.

I'm guessing that Wal Mart doesn't select younger bands because, like Bon Joanie Loves Chachi mentioned, those kids simply don't "get" what the whole experience is about. And that's okay, too. The industry has evolved, just like it always has. We're getting old, folks. Embrace it.

[Michigan Girl]

I love JBJ and I don't want he and his band members to die because
of a stupid remark ...he does make many good points!!

[StevePerryHair]

I love JBJ and I don't want he and his band members to die because
of a stupid remark ...he does make many good points!!

And his band does better than most every other classic band, as far as concert sales, cd sales, getting radio play with new music, music videos, and popularity with youth. They are one of the few as successful as they are despite it, so I think it's fair for him to make an assessment like this.

[Melissa]

Bon Joanie Loves Chachi

And yeah like mentioned, the days of albums and tapes did seem like a pain compared to cd's when they came out. Fast forwarding through songs you wanted to skip on tapes WAS a pain Imagine kids today having to do that, or heaven forbid, ejecting it and flipping it over to play the rest of the songs, *gasp!* Their fingers might break!

[Saint John]

I love JBJ and I don't want he and his band members to die because
of a stupid remark ...he does make many good points!!

Yeah, but the overall sentiment is that "Steve Jobs killed the music industry" and that's just fucking dumb. Steve Jobs took it from the depths of piracy hell and made downloading music cool by inventing iTunes, thus putting money back in the pockets of the artists. And while his #1 priority was obviously to make money, it was a mutually beneficial concept/invention because, prior to iTunes, they were making $0.00 per song downloaded.

[StevePerryHair]

I love JBJ and I don't want he and his band members to die because
of a stupid remark ...he does make many good points!!

Yeah, but the overall sentiment is that "Steve Jobs killed the music industry" and that's just fucking dumb. Steve Jobs took it from the depths of piracy hell and made downloading music cool by inventing iTunes, thus putting money back in the pockets of the artists. And while his #1 priority was obviously to make money, it was a mutually beneficial concept/invention because, prior to iTunes, they were making $0.00 per song downloaded.

Yeah, it's more fair to say that the internet ruined the music industry.... Steve Jobs was not the first. He just figured out how to profit from it.

[Melissa]

Working now to get an iPod/iPhone jack rigged up in my car -- it's so much more convenient than hauling around a bunch of CD's.

True, and I love my iPod, but find iTunes to be a pain to work with sometimes. And the car jack thing, my newer '08 car has one, but my '03 doesn't and I use one of those tape adaptors to play my iPod in there, lol.

[Michigan Girl]

I love JBJ and I don't want he and his band members to die because
of a stupid remark ...he does make many good points!!

Yeah, but the overall sentiment is that "Steve Jobs killed the music industry" and that's just fucking dumb. Steve Jobs took it from the depths of piracy hell and made downloading music cool by inventing iTunes, thus putting money back in the pockets of the artists. And while his #1 priority was obviously to make money, it was a mutually beneficial concept/invention because, prior to iTunes, they were making $0.00 per song downloaded.

agreed ...just remove the death wish, please!!

[Michigan Girl]

I love JBJ and I don't want he and his band members to die because
of a stupid remark ...he does make many good points!!

And his band does better than most every other classic band, as far as concert sales, cd sales, getting radio play with new music, music videos, and popularity with youth. They are one of the few as successful as they are despite it, so I think it's fair for him to make an assessment like this.

Absolutely, he doesn't need the money and he's not worried about his band ...he's
thinking of the future, which is not in his comfort zone!!

[Saint John]

agreed ...just remove the death wish, please!!

Fine ... I hope he goes bald, instead.

[Michigan Girl]

agreed ...just remove the death wish, please!!

Fine ... I hope he goes bald, instead.

lol!!

[Deb]

Working now to get an iPod/iPhone jack rigged up in my car -- it's so much more convenient than hauling around a bunch of CD's.

True, and I love my iPod, but find iTunes to be a pain to work with sometimes. And the car jack thing, my newer '08 car has one, but my '03 doesn't and I use one of those tape adaptors to play my iPod in there, lol.

I have yet to buy a single thing on itunes. I like having the actual CD, I then upload what I want from it onto my IPOD, etc. Yes, I may be old-school, but I like having the cd and all that goes with it. The cover, the booklet, the lyrics, the thankyous, etc. and yes, a lot of times a bonus dvd that comes with. I was just showing somebody the 3D slide sleeve on my limited Japan release of MB's What If... CD, very cool 3D pics front and especially on the back.

[bluejeangirl76]

Lefsetz replies to Bon Jovi...


That's Steve Jobs. Responsible for the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

Not responsible for broadband, Napster, CD burning, hard-drive swapping and the rest of the elements that contributed to the demise of the old recording industry. As a matter of fact, Jobs was last. Macs came without CD burners. And Rio released the first MP3 player. All Steve Jobs did was make the experience easier and more elegant. And provided a way for the rights holders to get paid via the iTunes Store. Yes, before then, music online was FREE! There was nowhere to pay.

...and full of viruses. iTunes is safe (and easy) for consumers (fans!), affordable, and the artists still get paid. Wtf is Mr. Eternal Bad Hair Day even bitching about here.

He's talking about kids a generation from know asking "what happened?" Is he kidding? Kids even NOW didn't experience what we experienced with music buying. They can't ask what happened to something they never experienced. They might be aware of it, but if anything they're probably GLAD they don't have to cart around cassette tapes and a walkman, and have to flip the damn tape over and FF side two in order to rewind side one! My sister's girls couldn't believe it when they asked me if their mom and I had DVDs when we were kids and I said no! Kids are concerned with what's available to them now. The rest of us have adapted to the changes, same way we always have.

That's like me asking "what happened" to the good old days of relying on ice delivery for my "ice box". Good lord, Jon, pull your head out of your ass.

[bluejeangirl76]

Working now to get an iPod/iPhone jack rigged up in my car -- it's so much more convenient than hauling around a bunch of CD's.

True, and I love my iPod, but find iTunes to be a pain to work with sometimes. And the car jack thing, my newer '08 car has one, but my '03 doesn't and I use one of those tape adaptors to play my iPod in there, lol.

I have yet to buy a single thing on itunes. I like having the actual CD, I then upload what I want from it onto my IPOD, etc. Yes, I may be old-school, but I like having the cd and all that goes with it. The cover, the booklet, the lyrics, the thankyous, etc. and yes, a lot of times a bonus dvd that comes with. I was just showing somebody the 3D slide sleeve on my limited Japan release of MB's What If... CD, very cool 3D pics front and back.

I still buy CDs and I will do so until the industry forces that out too. I like having the CD too. I do download from iTunes only when I want one or two songs for whatever reason, and not the whole CD. And if that option was available to me "back in the day" it would have saved me from spending fifteen bucks just for things that had one or two songs I wanted... also would have saved me hours of listening to the radio waiting for certain things just to "tape" one song.

[Michigan Girl]

Working now to get an iPod/iPhone jack rigged up in my car -- it's so much more convenient than hauling around a bunch of CD's.

True, and I love my iPod, but find iTunes to be a pain to work with sometimes. And the car jack thing, my newer '08 car has one, but my '03 doesn't and I use one of those tape adaptors to play my iPod in there, lol.

I have yet to buy a single thing on itunes. I like having the actual CD, I then upload what I want from it onto my IPOD, etc. Yes, I may be old-school, but I like having the cd and all that goes with it. The cover, the booklet, the lyrics, the thankyous, etc. and yes, a lot of times a bonus dvd that comes with. I was just showing somebody the 3D slide sleeve on my limited Japan release of MB's What If... CD, very cool 3D pics front and especially on the back.

I'm a hard copy girl too, Deb!! I keep records, music and pics on the PC, but I still
want the goods to hold in my hot little hands!!

[SF-Dano]

Anybody remember "Personics". Little kiosks where you could pick songs from a catalog and they would then make a personalized cassette tape for you with those songs. They had them at Tower records out here in the west. Didn't last long though, maybe just a year or so.

[brandonx76]

Anybody remember "Personics". Little kiosks where you could pick songs from a catalog and they would then make a personalized cassette tape for you with those songs. They had them at Tower records out here in the west. Didn't last long though, maybe just a year or so.

Yeah, I remember that - never had any songs I wanted tho

[Melissa]

Working now to get an iPod/iPhone jack rigged up in my car -- it's so much more convenient than hauling around a bunch of CD's.

True, and I love my iPod, but find iTunes to be a pain to work with sometimes. And the car jack thing, my newer '08 car has one, but my '03 doesn't and I use one of those tape adaptors to play my iPod in there, lol.

I have yet to buy a single thing on itunes. I like having the actual CD, I then upload what I want from it onto my IPOD, etc. Yes, I may be old-school, but I like having the cd and all that goes with it. The cover, the booklet, the lyrics, the thankyous, etc. and yes, a lot of times a bonus dvd that comes with. I was just showing somebody the 3D slide sleeve on my limited Japan release of MB's What If... CD, very cool 3D pics front and especially on the back.

Oh I have yet to buy a single thing on iTunes either, lol, I have TONS of cd's because I like the hard copy too, like having the artwork, liner notes, etc. I just find the iTunes program itself, when working with it on my pc, to be a pain sometimes!

[Rhiannon]

That's like me asking "what happened" to the good old days of relying on ice delivery for my "ice box". Good lord, Jon, pull your head out of your ass.

Jonbon's still trying to find out where all the brontosauruses went.

("They were here... we were hanging out by the pond... there was a flash. Got real hot, got real cold... I found a cave... *lip quiver, single tear* I want my MTV.")