In a recent interview with the Broward Palm Beach New Times, Anthrax’s Scott Ian spoke his mind about those who download music illegally. Below are some of the highlights of what he had to say…he definitely raises some valid points. Might be a good idea to just buy the new album Worship Music instead of trying to steal it.

“We did great above and beyond expectations for 2011, at least my own expectations. With the way things are now and people stealing music and not actually buying records, it’s just the way it is. So the fact that we sold 30,000 the first week and entered at No. 12 was awesome — for 2011. If you put that in 2001, we would have sold probably 250,000 the first week and been No. 12. Or let’s say 20 years ago, if you want to put things in perspective, in 1993 “Sound of White Noise” entered the charts at No. 7, and it sold, like, 110,000 copies. So, a lot of it has to do, of course, with what other records come out the same week as you and all that. But to put it in perspective sales-wise, it just sucks that 30,000 is considered a huge success in 2011. It’s a double-edged sword because on one hand it’s like, “Woo-hoo, we did great,” but then it’s also like, “Yeah, but how many other people stole the record, and you should have sold 150,000 copies this first week?”

“I don’t think (a lot of people stole the new record), I know they did. It’s the way it works these days. People can get the records for free, whether they’re an actual fan or just a casual person who just wants to check something out. It’s not a case of going out and checking out music. Now you can steal it, because the Internet makes that possible for people. People have this sense of entitlement now where they think music is free, and that’s the way it is, whether or not they even realize they’re stealing it. Before the Internet, the only way to steal music was to walk into a music store and physically walk out with something, and you were stealing, and you knew it. You knew, unless you’re a fucking maniac, that there was a consequence. If you got caught, you were going to get in trouble. On the Internet, there is no consequence for stealing. Nobody gets in trouble for stealing music, nobody gets in trouble for stealing movies. Illegal downloading has no consequence. So until there is a consequence, it’s going to happen more and more and more, and people are going to see less and less original and good content from the record industry and movie industry.”

When asked what a proper consequence for internet downloading should be….he replied.

You lose your Internet. That’s it, no more Internet for you. Seriously! Like you drive drunk, you lose the privilege of driving. You download illegally, you lose the privilege of having the Internet. The punishment fits the crime. Why these service providers don’t stop the torrent sites and put a consequence on this, I have no idea. Everybody complains about the trillions of dollars being lost, but nobody does anything about it. Believe me, if I could do something about it, I would.