U2 “devaluing music”, says Nick Mason

Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason accuses U2 of devaluing music by giving their album ‘Songs Of Innocence’ away on iTunes

ink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has criticised U2 over their free iTunes release of new album Songs Of Innocence. In a Rolling Stone interview, Mason said that U2 released their album “the wrong way” and that it “devalues things.” He also said that, “Music has been horribly devalued by being given away. It’s funny they didn’t sense some of that. It’s been the big story of the 21st century, music being devalued.”

The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney also recently commented on the release, saying it “devalued their music completely.” U2 frontman Bono was recently asked about the album during a Q&A session on the band’s Facebook page and apologised, saying, “Oops… I’m sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea… might have got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. A drop of megalomania, a touch of generosity, a dash of self-promotion.” He has also revealed that he is working with Apple on a new digital format that he believes will “tempt [music fans] into buying music.”

Learning from U2’s mistakes, Mason hopes that people will buy Pink Floyd’s new album Endless River. “We’re hoping people might actually buy this record. It was so unexpected, I thought, and interesting that people took such umbrage at being given something.”

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