Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson on the new album, creativity, the music industry and cheating in football

Jethro Tull have released more than 30 studio and live albums, selling more than 60 million copies since the inaugural album recording in 1968. After undertaking more than 4,000 concerts in forty-something countries throughout five decades, Jethro Tull still regularly perform and are set to embark on a major US and European tour through the Summer and Fall of 2023.

AS USA caught up with Jethro Tull frontman and founder Ian Anderson with the band having just released their 23rd studio album RökFlöte.

Q) This is the band’s 23rd studio album since ‘This Was’ was released on Island Records at the end of the 60s, what is your current inspiration and motivation for composing music and how does that compare to the 21-year-old Ian Anderson?

The drive to do what I do in terms of creative art has no dependency on age, and as long as you wake up in the morning and you feel well, then the creative side of things doesn’t seem to be hampered by the tedium of old age. As far as being creative, whether you’re Picasso or John Lee Hooker, then as long as you feel creatively empowered, then you’re in a good job and nobody wants to give up a good job.

In terms of creativity, there is a constant trickle of ideas and motivational moments. This process began when I was in my late teens/early 20s and this is the way that it is now.

Q) What is the language being used on the track Voluspo that opens RökFlöte, the new studio album?

It’s a rendition of the poetic edda in old Icelandic from the 11th century. It’s an attempt to verbalise some of the traditions and mythology of old Icelandic religion and legends and was created by a friend of mine in Iceland.

Q) Over the years, artists have seen their revenue streams change given the downturn in sales from the physical LP, MC, CD formats.

Given the pittance that streaming offers musicians, how essential is touring to a band like Jethro Tull?

Well, the emphasis has changed when records were the probably the more lucrative part for most bands and touring was something you did to promote your records at the behest of record companies, managers and agents.

There were some bands who did make money out of touring back in the 70s because they were a little more cautious and didn’t feel the need to have private jets, a vast entourage and didn’t blow their money on drugs and high living and they just acted in a more modest way.

From about 1972 going forward, Jethro Tull cleared our debts and started to make profits both as recording artists and as a touring group. At that time, it was probably weighted two thirds versus one third in terms of record income versus touring income. Things have changed dramatically over time and currently it’s probably four times as much in terms of touring income as it would be from record income.

With declining physical record sales, most music is sourced via streaming, which, as you pointed out, earns almost nothing either for the record companies or the artists.

My streaming income from perhaps six seven albums, where I actually see all the details twice a year, wouldn’t even cover my wife’s food shopping bill, on an annual basis. It really is dribs and drabs and record companies can’t do the job that they’re supposed to do if they don’t really have meaningful income. It’s it’s getting close to the time when, for many bands it will be very hard to make enough money to justify the cost of making a record. Few would get rich out of making records any longer. There are very few artists like Ed Sheeran and Adele who have big streaming hits and still manage to sell substantial amounts of physical product.

Most artists who are in the middle to lower range are going to struggle to make anything out of records and as for a new band starting up today, I see that as pretty hopeless case, they’ll sell a few CDs at a gig, and that’s about it. The music business is a very tough world these days.

So my advice to young musicians is by all means have the confidence and the enthusiasm to go forward with plan A but have a plan B and C as catching up again later is not that easy.

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Q) ‘Aqualung’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen and Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’ are all classic generation defining songs that clock in at six minutes or so.

Does it concern you that the younger music fan simply doesn’t have the attention span to listen to songs that don’t engage after 10 or 15 seconds.

There is a pure commercial reality in modern radio and I don’t think many have the freedom to programme either on television or radio, what they would necessarily really like to do.

So it’s all about pragmatic realities and we live in that world wherever we look, but doesn’t stop artists trying to be creative and bucking the conventions and hoping that you get a bit lucky.

Q) At AS USA, we have a heavy sport focus. Are you a sports fan or does sport ever play a big role in your life?

I have no interest whatsoever in vulgar sports where men spit and roll around and cheat. Football …forget, it but I do have a soft spot for Formula One and enjoy watching tennis sometimes. I have tried to overcome my prejudices and watch some football but I am usually turned off immediately by the fact that so many players cheat and I’m afraid I’m a bit of a moralist when it comes to that. I’ve heard the word gamesmanship used to explain to me that this is a part of the sport, gamesmanship for me doesn’t exist, it’s just plain old cheating. I do watch Formula One because they’re cheating as a rule and it’s a little more subtle.

Jethro Tull’s new album RökFlöte is out now.

Catch the band on tour in the US this summer/fall: