Paul Weller thinks music has "therapeutic powers".
The 59-year-old singer-songwriter believes that good quality music has the ability to help lift its listeners out of dark periods in their lives.
He explained: "Art and music, to me, reflect the times and can kind of lead us out of those times too, even if it’s just an internal thing or spiritual thing. I don’t know how important music is these days to different generations, I don’t know if it has that cultural value like it did for my generation and age group.
"Me personally, I still believe in the power of music, its healing powers and its therapeutic powers, and spiritual power."
But Paul thinks that the way music is now consumed has only served to cheapen it.
Speaking to the ABC network in Australia, he said: "I think the issue is the way we receive music now, because it’s so instantaneous, it has its good points but it somewhat cheapens it too.
"The whole thing of people not having to pay for music is bizarre to me, because I can’t think of any other art form which that applies to."
Although Paul can understand why digital downloads have become so popular among consumers, he isn’t sure whether the shift has been generally good for the music industry.
He reflected: "It’s got good points because you can get any song you want at the flick of a switch but I don’t know if it’s so good in the long term for music. I think it might make it a bit throwaway."
Paul Weller: Music has therapeutic powers
