Lenny Kravitz and Howard Stern talk America's Got Talent, music industry change

Singer/songwriter Lenny Kravitz appeared on The Howard Stern Show Tuesday morning to talk about his successful and prolific career as a musician, and to swap opinions on how the music industry has changed.

Kravitz's new funk rock album, STRUT, is dropping Tuesday, September 23. STRUT is Kravitz's tenth album and the first from his own label, Roxie Records.

"This is the music I grew up with," Stern said about rock music. "It reflected everything that was going on in our culture. Rock stars were our leaders."

"It's changed. DJ's have become the rock stars," Kravitz said. Electronic music has taken precedent over rock music in recent years, drawing in the big crowds. "But music, and art in general, is always a reflection of our society."

Technology, not music, is king nowadays. "Why make a new album now?" Stern questions.

"A lot of people in the music industry say 'just put out singles now, because the album is dead," Stern said, drawing on how the music industry has changed. Why does Kravitz do it?

"I still believe in it and love it, and I still think in albums," Kravitz said. "If I'm going to make music, I'm going to write a collection of songs that represent how I feel at that moment."

Kravitz performed at the America's Got Talent finale, Tuesday September 16, and was proud to grace the stage on behalf of the reality talent competition.

"Things that we used to say would be a 'sell out' is now normal," Kravitz said. "The world has changed, the outlets have changed."

In recent years, Kravitz has made a name for himself on the silver screen, taking on the role of Cinna in The Hunger Games, and seeking to take on further Hollywood roles.

Lenny Kravitz's will begin a world tour on October 22 in Moscow.