Blink 182's Tom Delonge has sounded off on online music streaming services and has likened it to condoning elephant killing, NME reports.
Delonge, who is currently promoting his latest album with his other band Angels and Airwaves, told Australia's Faster Louder that he thinks music streaming is like killing an extinct animal.
"I tell people condoning streaming is like condoning the Chinese that are killing elephants for their tusks and carving ivory statues," the singer-guitarist started.
"It's cool to put on your shelf but if you really think about what you're doing, it sucks," he continued. "Streaming music is doing the same thing to artists - might not be killing 'em but it's killing the industry."
He also mentioned how people who avail of music streaming services fail to consider the harm it does to the music industry.
"It might be cool for you as somebody that likes music but you're not really thinking about the effect it has," Delonge explained.
The rocker also spoke of how he believes music should be given its due value as an art form.
The last part of Delonge's statement shared pop singer Taylor Swift's sentiment about streaming services. Speaking to Yahoo Music earlier this month, Swift said the reason behind her departure from Spotify is her belief that music should not be free.
"I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of [music]," Swift said.
Country legend Garth Brooks has also shared his disappoval of streaming services in an interview with Access Hollywood last week.
The first artist to come out with grievances against music streaming services, particulary Spotify, was Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke. He pulled out his solo work and the songs he made with his side project Atoms for Peace from the service last year, citing its inability to pay fairly, according to The Guardian.