I don't steal music. Well, I might, but I won't admit to anyone over a public blog that I do. In any event I have plenty of thoughts on the subject of musical piracy. Here I will only touch on a few and those only to lead up to an interesting dilemma, primarily directed toward the Imperial Guard of the musical seas. (But I'm happy to discuss any time.)In the world of today, digital files seem to have completely dominated the musical world. Personally I can remember back to having a Walkman (not to be confused with Discman, one of which I also had), but now this just serves to make me feel old. Anyone under the age of 16 now gives the same blank stare to "cassette tape" they would to "8-track." (I still don't really know what those are, by the way. I've just seen weird little Atari game-shaped plastic boxes that have crappy artist names on them, usually found in thrift stores. Anyone remember Atari?...) Now it's all mp3, digital music players, and i-friggin'-Tunes! If I ever get around to watching TV (doesn't happen often) I'm bombarded by companies wanting me to buy their latest mp3 player. CDs are out! The ease of digital music is in! (What I'm saying is it's Technology and Marketing's fault that music is so easy to steal.) I'm of the first generation that grew up computer mouse in hand, learning to copy and paste. It's second nature to me, and not surprising to me that so many people my age don't give a second thought to deftly copying a friend's music files just as they would a friend's photos.
Now there is that tricky little bit where it's illegal to copy copyrighted material. Artists work hard to make albums, and arguably, stealing an album is like stealing a little tiny bit of their paycheck. One could counterargue and say things like, "the record labels get all the money anyway," or "the Rolling Stones are already too rich," but the fact remains (even I'm freely willing to admit) stealing music is illegal. Okay. Let's get to that dilemma. (Only a few paragraphs away!)
So how do I feel about all of this? I love music. I love hearing new music, and I love having a large music collection and knowing it intimately enough that I can just about mirror any mood I'm in with an album I choose to put on. I also love to share music with others - to learn what music gets them excited and then make mixes or suggestions of music I think they will like. I am also poor (relatively speaking). This, plus my aforementioned tendency to think of music files as any other files (that can be copied and pasted), make it fairly easy for me to rationalize acquiring music in a less-than-legitimate way. (And a lot of older rock band are either really rich or dead...) Even so, I do try to support smaller bands that I really enjoy, or even bigger bands that I really enjoy. And though that is the secondary goal (the first being me getting more music), it's still sometimes hard to get past the fact that bands still only get a tiny cut of an album sale. And that's not to mention the fact that when I do get around to buying new CDs, I buy them used when I can. And when I do that, the band doesn't get any money from that particular transaction anyway! What to do?!
(One potentially good answer was provided by Radiohead a few years ago - offer download by donation on your website and create a direct money-for-music transaction between listener and artist, the listener paying as much as he/she is able or willing. It does help to be ridiculously successful enough to have a huge fan base in place and to be able to produce an album independently... But, perhaps this is the album-purchasing format of the future.)
Now please allow me to tell a poorly-disguised third person story about my friend Dylan. Dylan was swapping some music with a good friend. One of the bands his friend was very excited about was the RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND. She put it on his hard-drive. (Had she not, he would not have remembered the band's name, and they are small enough he may never have heard of them again.) A few months later, Dylan found the album on his iPod and put it on. The RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND was awesome! He began listening to them on a regular basis, being especially enchanted by the thoughtful lyrics and amazing voice of the lead singer, the band's namesake. By chance, he happened to look on the band's website and see that they were playing in Carbondale, a town near to which *ironically* both Dylan and I live. So on the night of the concert, Dylan braved the blowing snow, up and over mountain passes, and made the trek to Carbondale to see the RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND. [Incidentally, I happened to be at the same show, and Dylan and I had a great time catching up.] Dylan helped supported the band with his $15 cover charge, sat up front, was blown away by their awesomeness and then blew about $20 in merchandise (two albums not acquired from his friend). What's more Dylan gave the RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND support and appreciation while on the road (and they are small enough still that their setup is five dudes and all their stuff in a van... and they spent the night in the guitar shop where they played.).
So here is the moral dilemma. What Dylan did was wrong. He took music that wasn't his, from a small band that he now likes, what's more. But if he hadn't, that band would count one less among their fans and would be down two album sales. So having music stolen from them was... ultimately in their best interest?? It's unclear. And, as my mom sometimes points out, the train of logic described above really is just glorified rationalization. It's still stealing. True. But it's still an interesting situation.
After I started writing this I asked Dylan if he planned on giving the RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND money to compensate for the earlier acquired album, or just actually buying it. He was on the fence, but he said he would feel a little better about it if he convinced me to write the name of the band in ALL CAPS throughout my post so as to draw attention to it. Maybe it will eventually lure just one more potential fan into checking them out on YouTube and then buying all of their albums...
The RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND is pretty cool!
On a somewhat related note, I'll be driving to Aspen in another few weeks to see another newly discovered band called OZOMATLI. They are also awesome - very high energy shows from what I hear... Check them out too. after you buy all of Ryan Montbleau's albums...
No comments:
Post a Comment