Last week the ETS news talked about a fan, Kevin Cogill, being sentenced for 2 months of home confinement, according to Rolling Stone. The guys talked about this last show, but this all started with Metallica and Napster. It is a double edged sword. On one hand, big huge artists like Guns N Roses shouldn’t sweat these things. They will still be paid and the record companies are the ones losing the majority of the money. Let’s face it, most bands/artists receive a bulk of their money from touring and merchandising. The world wide web and bloggers are not going anywhere so record companies should embrace technology and find a way to profit from it. People will ALWAYS download free music, but music played on the radio is free. No one ever bitches about the radio being free. Songs are supposed to promote album sales for record companies and promote tours for bands. Most musicians normally get paid anywhere from $.10 to $.50 for every sale of their album. Bigger acts can negotiate higher, but is usually the norm. So most musicians aren’t making a killing off their own records. That is why most musicians spend years on the road, because the majority of that money goes right to their pockets, including merchandise sales. I will admit, if I spend my life making a record and some schmuck can download it in seconds, I’d be a little pissed off too, but there is nothing that can really be done about it. Record companies are losing millions, they should invest that money into research on how to protect their own assets, instead of worrying about people stealing. Here is what Kid Rock Thinks about this subject:
A Response to Downloading
