Ex-RUNNING WILD Guitarist Slams Illegal Music Downloaders: 'Where Is The Loyalty Of The Fans?'

RUNNING WILD's official web site has posted a brand-new interview with the band's former guitarist Thilo Herrmann. Asked to share his opinion about file exchange programs and MP3s, he answered, "Only when the last song has been covered and the last hit has been recorded as a hip hop edit will you know that you cannot copy music forever. No one can manufacture something (music AND movies) without being paid in any way. Who's supposed to pay for the production and last but not least the musicians/actors, who are the origin of all that? You don't give money to your boss to be allowed to work, do you? No band can pay its dues alone from being popular, you have to SELL your records… If someone copies CDs on a grand scale, then there's no question if that is illegal. But since almost anyone can copy programs/CDs, this is not an offence of a single person anymore, but more like worldwide piracy, that might ruin an entire business branch. Where is the loyalty of the fans to the musicians that is expected the other way? Maybe these music pirates really don't know that they harm the bands they like to listen to. I know quite some people that lack the will to understand this and there should be tighter legal restrictions, which have to be enforced, also to protect the honest consumers. There are providers offering single songs for download charging a small fee and of course this is a chance for many bands to offer their music very quickly to a broad public and without the help of vendors..." Read the whole interview here.