Just days after tackling the value of music in a Q&A, Lazaretto rocker Jack White penned a poem magnifying those reflections titled "Music is Sacred" and posted it to his Third Man Books official site.
White begs to "those of you who stand for the sanctity of music / So that its soul can breathe and be heard" and warns of "cowards and those who would intend to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire."
During the Third Man Records Q&A with Facebook followers and subscribers, White handled questions concerning his large involvement in Jay Z's high quality streaming service, Tidal. When asked why fans should pay for a premium subscription for streaming when Youtube and Spotify present free options to the public, the singer responded with "Don't devalue musicians, man; support them. Making records is expensive, believe us. I don't see people saying we should go to the movies for free, or Netflix should be free. That state of music is in flux. Be on the side of supporting creativity, not taking from it. This gives you that chance."
As one of Tidal's biggest supporters, White has allowed the service exclusive access to live stream recent shows in North Dakota and even delivered personal phone calls to user to thank them for their faithful dedication, notes Rolling Stone.
"Tidal is going to help a lot of artists out. I'm talking about the punk band that has 50k hits on YouTube and doesn't see a dime," White explained in the Q&A. "But also bigger artists, medium artists, whatever, if PSY gets viewed 2 billion times and makes a couple grand, where did all his money go? It's also very important to buy real records from artists you love when they are on tour. That buys gas in our tanks when we were struggling."
In a recent statement, Third Man Records further detailed "Music is Sacred" and its intentions by stating "contrary to reports, the poem recently posted by Jack White had absolutely nothing to do with the current interest in the Tidal streaming service Q&A with Third Man followers. It was a stand alone piece and was never issued as a press release. It can be found on the Third Man Books site here."
Read White's "Music Is Sacred" poem here:
those of you who stand for the sanctity of music
so that its soul can breathe
and be heard
so that it blooms in graveyards
echoes in hotel hallways
awakens neighbors in the night
and fills peoples minds with fire
shout it out loud with whatever microphone you have
or these stones will shout for you.
jump in front of demons,
and stand over cowards and those who would intend
to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire
tell the living and the dead
what you know in your heart to be true
and what you know your ears
will forever hear
that the melody of the human race
is a song that never ends.
music is sacred.
