Healy defends illegal music downloaders

Fran Healy has defended music fans who download music illegally, claiming that it encourages sales through word of mouth.

The Travis frontman told the Press Association that getting people to talk about his music is worth more than the cost of manufacturing a physical album.

"If someone downloads an album, if they search for that record, they're a fan of the band," he explained. "They download that record, that record [that's] 76p to manufacture.

"They get it for nothing - really you're paying the 76p for doing the most important job there is in the business, which is word of mouth. If you made a great record and they are gabbering about it, these are the people that create the hype."

Healy admitted that he has downloaded music illegally in the past, but suggested that regular bootleggers "are 12-year-old kids who can't afford [to buy music]".