Taio Cruz: "I'm an entrepreneur"

Taio Cruz has claimed that the music industry forces artists to become entrepreneurs.

The 'Dynamite' singer, who is currently number one in the UK singles chart, said that the rise in illegal music downloading means he has to "diversify" in order to make a living.

"I understand why a kid wouldn’t necessarily understand why it’s important not to download illegally," he told the Daily Star.

"Back in the day when artists were selling hundreds of millions you could only get records from the shops. Now you can surf and pick up tunes for free. It means artists like myself have to diversify to make a living."

He continued: "I’m an entrepreneur. I’m doing the Richard Branson thing by calling everything I produce after my brand, Rokstarr. Russell Simmons did it with Phat Farm, Jay-Z with Rocaware.

"I have the Rokstarr fragrance and the sunglasses. I’m going to expand it with a whole range of products."

Cruz releases a best of, called The Rokstarr Collection, on September 20.