Pink Floyd's David Gilmour has called on his fellow Live8 artists to give any profits they make from the show to charity, quickly responding to the huge boost in sales that all artists (with the exception of Pete Doherty, who's sales actually slumped following the show) have received this week.
In a statement, David said: “Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. If on Thursday the G8 leaders tick the right three boxes at Gleneagles then the main objective will have been fulfilled...
“If other artists feel like donating their extra royalties to charity, perhaps then the record companies could be persuaded to make a similar gesture and that would be a bonus.
“This is money that should be used to save lives.”
UK politician Don Foster (Liberal Democrats) echoed David's comments: “Live 8 may have struck a chord with viewers all over the world, but for the artists it’s now clear that it also struck gold. The artists showed huge generosity and compassion in taking part this weekend. Now they should continue to show their goodwill by donating the profits that Live 8 helped create.”
Universal Music said it will donate its share of profits from digital downloads of Sir Paul McCartney's performances at the show to Live 8. A spokesman said: "100% of the revenues we receive from the downloaded tracks will be passed on to the Band Aid trust."
The CD sales news coincided with news of how eBay sales of the concert on DVD and CD, which appeared on the auction site on Sunday morning, have been stopped. Bob Geldof's spokesman said: "The people that do this are cretins and scum.” The British Phonographic Industry said: "There are too many people out there who believe music is for stealing, regardless of the wishes of the artists and the people who invest in them. Sadly, we are not at all surprised by this incident."
Finally, The Sun newspaper today reported that the Floyd have been begged to tour America. David Gilmour said: "We've been offered US$150million to do gigs in the States. It's completely mad - and we won't do it. The idea was for Live 8 as a one-off."
Look for our full show report, and the views of many Brain Damage visitors, in the next few days, along with a load of additional pictures from the event.
|