Vivian Campbell: Music piracy is good for Def Leppard

Def Leppard: Classic
Def Leppard: Classic

Def Leppard are currently touring the US and, despite the fact they've been around since 1977, are still drawing in a new generation of younger fans. The Lep's Vivian Campbell would like to thank music piracy and the file-sharing public for keeping "the kids" in tow.

"That's a by-product of music piracy more than anything else", said the guitarist. "I'm not saying that as a negative. I think it's very positive".

"A lot of younger kids get turned on to classic bands because they're trading files. They have 4000 or 5000 songs on their iPod, that's $4,000 or $5,000 on their iPod, at iTunes' prices, at least. A 12-year-old can't afford that. When kids trade files, it's actually a good thing for classic bands such as us".

Although he thinks "classic bands" should be grateful, Campbell admits not everyone will benefit: "It's not such a good thing for up-and-coming artists who need to sell records."

He's definitely got a point, unlike Joss "music should be shared" Stone, who may or may not have been joking but still ended up sounding like an idiot.

Tom Porter worked on MusicRadar from its mid-2007 launch date to 2011, covering a range of music and music making topics, across features, gear news, reviews, interviews and more. A regular NAMM-goer back in the day, Tom now resides permanently in Los Angeles, where he's doing rather well at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).