New bands' tour funds drying up, Doves say

Rock band Doves have said they "feel for" new artists because it is becoming more difficult to find the funds to go on tour and make music.

Money from record labels for touring and recording is drying up, guitarist Jez Williams told BBC 6 Music.

He put that down to the effects of file-sharing on the music industry.

"It's really difficult for bands to go out on the road and tour," he said. "It costs a lot of money to take a band on the road to do 10 UK dates."

Referring to the pot of cash traditionally provided by labels for their artists to go on the road, he said: "It's really tricky for new bands to get tour support because there's no such thing as tour support any more.

"So people haven't got that back-up any more. And that's a direct link to people downloading albums without paying for it. It's suffered because of that."

I guess the only thing that hasn't changed is that if you've got the hunger and the determination then you'll do it Jez Williams

Asked whether he would like to be starting out today, he replied: "It's a lot tougher for new bands.

"It's going to be quite hard for you to pay the rent because there's no money, there's no tour support, very little in the way of advances, so it's very hard to make any kind of living out of it if you're just starting out.

"I really feel for up and coming bands. But I guess the only thing that hasn't changed is that if you've got the hunger and the determination then you'll do it.

"You just have to. You have to be a little bit more determined now."

Band arguments

Williams said he could "see both sides" of the piracy debate and the UK government's proposed Digital Economy Bill, which could see infringers' internet connections suspended.

"Some people say their liberties are being taken away," he said. "But I wouldn't go into a baker's and just take a piece of bread. We need to get paid, really."

The Manchester trio have just released their greatest hits album, called The Places Between, which is heading for the top 10 this weekend.

The process of choosing the tracks caused some friction within the band, he revealed.

"Everyone's got their own favourites so it was a bit of a long painful process of trying to pick [songs] and compromise where we all were happy," he said.

Asked whether there were arguments, he replied: "Yeah, of course. Because all three of us are very passionate. It's kind of a democracy, Doves, so everyone's got a valid opinion. But we got there in the end."