Noel Gallagher blames ‘Friends’ and coffee culture for decline of music sales

Noel Gallagher has said he thinks the sitcom Friends and coffee culture are to blame for declining music sales.

The former Oasis guitarist and songwriter discussed how changes in people’s spending habits has affected how they support artists, particularly when streaming services have given them access to all the music they could possibly want for free. Indeed, he said that he struggled to understand how people will spend their money in coffee shops – the growth of which he put down to the characters in Friends frequently socialising in one – but not music.

According to the Daily Star, Gallagher said: “Sitting around in sweaters drinking overpriced coffee and talking about nonsense.

“Since the rise of the coffee shop, culture has disappeared. People are horrified that they have to pay for music! But $20 for two coffees, oh, absolutely. I haven’t got the brain capacity to process this.”

It’s not the first time that Gallagher has pointed the finger at coffee culture either. He told  NPR: ““I blame Friends [for] the rise of the coffee shop. Since the rise of the coffee shop, culture has disappeared, don’t you think? People are horrified that they have to pay for music. Music! But $20 for two coffees, ‘Oh, absolutely’.

“I feel like the resistance to pay for music came after people got used to that. Maybe it’s that they got used to spending a lot on commodities that feel like culture – like coffee – and then changed their financial priorities. Or maybe it’s that, all of a sudden, music was free.”

Gallagher is currently gearing up to release a new album, ‘Council Skies’, with the High Flying Birds. Set to drop on June 2, it features the singles ‘Council Skies’,  ‘Dead To The World’, ‘Easy Now’ and ‘Pretty Boy’.

Yesterday, Gallagher confirmed that there will be a reissue of Oasis’ ‘Definitely Maybe’ album coming in 2024, though once again shut down the idea of there being a reunion tour taking place any time soon.

“There won’t be a tour,” he said. “We won’t come back to play them together.”