Billy Corgan says the music business is run by “feckless idiots”

It’s fair to say that Billy Corgan isn’t exactly known for shying away from having a strong opinion. In the past he’s had a pop at middling reviews of Smashing Pumpkins records, Radiohead, festival posers, and alternative music in general. Now he’s appeared on American cable news channel CNBC to discuss the music industry.

In the on-air interview, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman said that the music business is run by “feckless idiots,” and also drew attention to what he sees as outdated models in the industry. “The tech world is just blowing music out of the water,” said Corgan. “Music artists need to figure out their true value in a free market, which they have been slow to do because you have that old model of telling artists they are not worth anything, that they are disposable.”

Talking of new models, TIDAL is not Billy Corgan’s cup of tea, either. “To try and sell it as an altruistic thing is disingenuous because it’s not,” said Corgan. “He [Jay-Z] is taking his slice of the pie, which he has every right to do — he is a powerful man and he works with powerful people. But by the way, I’m a powerful artist and I don’t recall getting a phone call from him.”

Sounds like someone really fancied a catch-up with Jay-Z…

Watch the full interview below.