Garbage’s Shirley Manson accuses the music industry of corporate greed and the exploitation of artists

Shirley Manson, who’s Electric Picnic-bound next week with Garbage, has fired a broadside at the mainstream music industry.

Having previously stated that, “Streaming is a fucking racket and a crime”, the singer says in the current issue of Hot Press: “It’s an exploitative industry that feeds off talent. I read today in Billboard that only 12% of the $48 billion made last year by the music industry went to artists – and most of that 12% was from touring. It’s utterly obscene.”

Going back to Garbage’s early days, she adds: “The music industry in the ‘90s was this hot air balloon that got so big and bloated it exploded. Ridiculous amounts of money were being spent on any band that sounded remotely like another band that was selling really well. It was the height of record company corporate greed and absolutely their own fault that it blew up in their faces.”

In a far-ranging interview with our man Stuart Clark , Shirley also talks about learning to love Los Angeles; getting her dog DNA tested; Garbage’s seminal Version 2.0 album, which will be performed in its entirety at the Picnic; encouraging more women to get involved in rock ‘n’ roll; and opening for U2 when they played the first major post-9/11 gig in New York.