Jon Bon Jovi: Steve Jobs Is 'Killing the Music Business'

By Sarah Crow Posted Mar 17th 2011 11:30AM

Jon Bon Jovi: Steve Jobs is 'Killing the Music Business' While rock legends Bon Jovi have been living on a prayer, the music industry is living on borrowed time, according to frontman Jon Bon Jovi.

In an interview with London's Sunday Times magazine, the seasoned rocker, 49, bemoans the loss of music store culture and points his figure at an unlikely source of the industry's demise: Apple's head honcho Steve Jobs.

Bon Jovi says, "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."

Bon Jovi alludes to the notion that Apple's iTunes music store and its pay-per-song pricing model have destroyed music lovers' ability to fully appreciate the experience of buying an album.

"Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business," he says. "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?'"

Tags: jon bon jovi

Comments

(48)

Friday 18 March

By maranello575

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Steve Jobs actually saved the music industry. If it were not for the convenience of iTunes and the IPod / iPhone then everyone would be downloading illegally.

Jon, times change, technology develops. You learn to adapt or you learn to shape the change in your favor.

By Tribsaint

Sorry, but what kills any business is not being able to adapt. Sorry thing change all the time, way of the world. Get over it and figure out how to get audiences for your album and not just your single. Apple wasn’t doing that well, and they adapted and overcame market adversity.

By gbillyl

I am an almost 50 year old. If you really think about it itunes is not a whole lot different then buying 45's when I was 10 or 12. We did not have the money for an album but we could buy a 45. Sometimes we would listen to the flip side but usually not. CD's pretty much changed my album buying -- as far as -- buying for the record cover art.

Saturday 19 March

By gendroffendr

i dont know if i would pin the motherlode on Jobs, but JBJ is dead on about the music experience, and the industry, going down the crapper. the industry sucked the creativity from itself long ago. the truth is not one suit gives a rip about the future of music -- only what they can leech out of it today.

Monday 21 March

By chris120

I think you are missing the point. Bon Jovi has nothing to prove. He's got the fame,looks, money etc. This is about helping the new artists make it, not nostalgia for the good old days.Today artists need to be able to perform live, without lip synching.They really do work hard up there.After 25 yrs. of sell out performances, they've got to be doing something right.Try to get a ticket to a show,if you can! BYTW,Garth Brooks agrees with him.Simple,don't buy it,they don't make money, they go away. Supply and demand!

Sunday 03 April

By David ET

Technology is here and music industry has to learn to adjust and not the other way around.

Monday 04 April

By bah bah

consumers killed music, Apple responded to a consumer want; very reflective from the demise of Napster

btw, Bon Jovi is available on iTunes--even he knows it is financially responsible for him to sell downloads

Friday 08 April

By Dan

Albums killed the Victrola business.
The Victrola killed the strolling minstrel business.
I'm still upset about what light bulbs did to candles. Edison, what a jackhole!

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