Richard Thompson: ‘Taylor Swift and Beyonce are brands not musicians’

Former Fairport Convention rocker Richard Thompson has slammed Beyonce and Taylor Swift as brands rather than real musicians.
The folk legend, 70, is a revered figure in music and in 2015 was chosen as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
He fears that modern acts are now too focused on making money from their fame – and singled out Taylor and Beyonce as two artists whose brands are now bigger than their music.
“Modern celebrity culture is just odd,” he tells Britain’s Independent newspaper. “You look at artists like Beyonce or Taylor Swift and they really are brands. It isn’t really about the music; it’s about promoting the brand. I find it very hard to take that music seriously, because it is so calculated and so engineered to public acceptance.”
Richard went on to argue that stars who embrace huge success and celebrity branding give up the chance to have a private life and have a personal interaction with fans.
He adds: “For me, it is hard to find the emotional core of the music, it just eludes me. It comes down to what you want. Who do you want to be? Do you want to be a brand and have your own clothing line? Live behind a gated wall? Have your whole life become a reality show? Or do you want a smaller audience and do something more interesting?”
The Meet on the Ledge hitmaker isn’t against all modern music, however, as he like some rap – although he admits he’s quite choosy about his favourite acts.
“Listening to rap, I am quite discriminating,” the musician explains. “There’s lots of it I don’t like, because I think it is derivative and it can be doggerel, basically. There is good stuff. Someone like Tupac is exceptional, very interesting. But a lot of rap doesn’t really excite me and I don’t particularly like music that is built on samples, music built on electronic sounds.”