Pete Townshend brands iTunes 'digital vampire'

LONDON?? The Who's Pete Townshend on Monday branded Apple's iTunes a "digital vampire" that profits from music without supporting the artists who create it.

1. 1. Kris Jenner says Kim?s marriage ?wasn?t a sham?

      Kris Jenner, matriarch of the Kardashian family, speaks out about her daughter?s recent split from Kris Humphries only mon...

   2. Updated 95 minutes ago 11/2/2011 4:15:43 PM +00:00 ?Potter? author: I nearly killed off Harry?s best friend
   3. Royal couple dispels runaway bride rumors
   4. Susan Boyle and Bill Cosby snuggle on TODAY
   5. Study links alcohol to increased breast cancer risk

Townshend said that faced with the Internet's demolition of established copyright protections, iTunes should offer some of the services to artists that record labels and music publishers used to provide. These include employing talents scouts, giving space to allow bands to stream their music and paying smaller artists directly rather than through a third party aggregator.

The guitarist was delivering the first John Peel Lecture, named in honor of the influential British radio broadcaster who died in 2004.

Townshend asked if there was any reason iTunes "can't provide some aspect of these services to the artists whose work it bleeds like a digital vampire" to make money.

ITunes declined to respond to Townshend's comments.

Apple's service is the market leader among legal download services, accounting for about three-quarters of music downloads.

Townshend said consumers, as well as the industry, needed to change their attitude to digital music.

"It would be better if music lovers treated music like food, and paid for every helping, rather than only when it suited them," he said.

"Why can't music lovers just pay for music rather than steal it?" he said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45109788/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

who do you think you are frank mccourt ricin in god we trust ben gibbard zooey deschanel damian mcginty