Laura Marling Speaks Out Over 'Criminalisation' of Downloaders

Laura Marling has spoken out about the criminalisation of illegal music downloaders in an interview with the NME.

In the piece, when asked about whether music should be free for all, Marling said, "No, because of the time and money it takes. I don't think people should be criminalised for getting music for free because it's there, it's offered to them."

The singer added, "It's promised to them by the Internet server people, it's promised to them by the phone companies. I think it's their responsibility."

Elsewhere in the article, which was published as part of NME's relaunch under new editor Krissi Murison, Marling stated that her career wouldn't have taken off if it wasn't for the Internet.

She said, "If I hadn't started a MySpace, which was the first thing I did, I would not be here today. Nobody would have had a route to get hold of me, or a way to listening to the music. As much as it's good, it's also a bit of a b----- because nobody's making any money!"

The NME relaunched this week with 10 different limited-edition cover artists, and interviews conducted with them all on the state of the music industry. Other than Marling, the newly designed cover page also features Jack White, Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine), James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Rihanna, Foals, Kasabian, M.I.A., Biffy Clyro and Magnetic Man.

Marling released her second full-length, 'I Speak Because I Can,' on March 22 in the UK.