Charlotte Hatherley on piracygate

Former Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley, now a successful solo artist in her own right, has given TMM her views on the file sharing debate.

It’s a particularly vital question to ask Hatherley, who is about to release her third solo album, New Worlds, on her own label, Little Sister Records.

“It should have been dealt with a long time ago. Record labels don’t know what the fuck they’re dealing with. Fuck the labels, it’s the artists who need to make money. I’m all for fucking record labels,” she told us. “I don’t expect to make any money from record sales, the only way to do it is to tour. It’s getting to the stage where only rich kids can afford to make music, there’s so many BRIT school, middle-class artists at the moment.

“I’m lucky in that I can play guitar for other people [Hatherley sets off a UK tour with Bat For Lashes tomorrow] and I can sell directly from my website. Kids need to realise [when they illegally download music] that they’re depriving artists of making a living. There’s no way some bands can survive. It’s quite bleak in so many ways.

“But cutting off internet connections isn’t the answer.”

The full interview with Charlotte, in which she talks to TMM about playing guitar for Bat For Lashes, her new album New Worlds and leaving Ash, will be on the site soon.

This article was written for TMM.