Let me just start off by saying that I'm not trying to give a lecture here… I'm just trying to bring awareness to something that I find to be horrendous! I know we normally blog about fun stuff and our crazy show outtings, but we really believe in this and in supporting music, so I had to say something. I also would like for you to share this blog with your friends to help us bring awareness to what I'm about to tell you!
As human beings it is in our nature to want to get stuff for free, get the best deal out there and by all means shop the clearance racks at our favorite stores to get something for next to nothing. We are always looking for a deal. And that is just fine if what you are doing isn't hurting others.
I had a very disturbing conversation last night with a couple members of one of my favorite bands. They were telling me how their album just came out last week and they have had disappointing sales so far, BUT they are like #20 on this file sharing site called limewire, where people are getting their music FOR FREE! The band did not give permission for their music to be up on this site, being passed around for free! This is hurting the band tremendously in many ways of which I will get into later, but in a nutshell, the 'free' sharing of their music is more than doubling their actual sales!! If all those people that are getting it for free would spend the $15 to buy the album, the band would be in much better shape.
This outrages me beyond belief, there are not many things in this world that piss me off to the point where I want to wake up in the morning and immediately start writing about it… skipping breakfast and coffee to write this, you know I'm serious now for christ's sake I'm giving up FOOD!
Basically what's going on is this… the band that I have loved and supported over the past few years is suffering because I believe people are unaware of the following…
- Just because someone is in a rock band does not mean they are wealthy.
This actually couldn't be further from the truth! There are many different levels of bands and just because a band had a hit song on the radio does NOT mean they are rolling in the dough. Unless you are a band that's a household name like Aerosmith, trust me, they are not well off, in fact most of them are struggling to get by. They don't live in big fancy houses and drive big fancy cars like you see on MTV cribs.
Let me put it like this, if your mom and your grandma don't know who the band is, they are not wealthy and have to get by on what they do for a living just like me and you. Imagine someone taking what you have worked really hard for, you'd be pissed off! I know I would be.
Bands on this level struggle to make it, hoping their album that they poured every fiber of their being into does well, only to find out their fans aren't buying their album, they are getting it for free.
WHEN YOU FILE SHARE MUSIC THAT IS NOT YOURS AND YOU DID NOT WRITE THIS IS WRONG AND YOU ARE STEALING FROM A BAND YOU SHOULD BE SUPPORTING SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE MUSIC FOR YOU TO ENJOY! IF YOU KEEP DOING THIS THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO. LABELS WILL DROP THEM, MANAGEMENT WILL DROP THEM AND THEY WILL BE FORCED TO STOP MAKING MUSIC, LETTING THEIR TALENTS GO TO WASTE.
- Let the other fans buy the album, me getting it for free won't make that big of a difference.
WRONG!!!! In this case the number of people getting the album for free is more than double the people who are buying it. It does make a difference! Let's face it, no matter how old we are people are influenced by their friends. If you are the one to say "no dude, getting this music for free is not cool, I'm just going to buy the album." Then your friends might do the same. BE THE FRIEND THAT HAS THE BALLS TO SAY WHAT HAS TO BE SAID!
- Radio stations, labels and billboard don't look at file sharing sites when determining an artist's "worth.
If you want a band you love to be heard on the radio, be kept by their label and be able to continue to make music, these file sharing sites only hurt them. Radio stations determine their play lists by what you BUY not by what you get for free, and what you BUY shows up on billboard, what you get off limewire and other file sharing sites does not show up on billboard. So again, file sharing and getting it for free is not only hurting the band but you as a fan as well. Disappointing record sales is a big reason for a label to drop a band, and if a band doesn't have a label then it's very hard for them to make music.
Everyone of us has to make a living and "rock stars" are no different than me and you in that regard. They just so happen to earn a little bit more notoriety with what they do. So next time you get on a file sharing site and obtain music for free, stop and think about what the implications are of you 'cheating' the system and getting something for free. Think about the drummer, the guitar player, the bass player and the lead singer out there on the road playing hole-in-the-wall clubs working their asses off to bring you their music and try to support themselves and their families and just trying to make a living doing what they love like the rest of us.
It really hurts me and angers me a little to see the nicest guys in the music business get screwed over by their own fans in this way. These guys are so incredibly genuine, they sign EVERY autograph after EVERY show they do, they talk to their fans, and they take pictures with everyone who wants one.
Like I said at the beginning, the point of this was not to lecture anyone, but instead bring awareness to what I consider to be a growing problem in the music world. So if you are a fan that buys the music and goes to the show and rocks your little heart out, then good for you!!! YOU are a true fan! If you see your friends getting stuff for free, tell them what I just told you about and have the balls to tell them that what they are doing is wrong!
I didn't mean for this to be so long, but when I really believe in what I'm saying I tend to be a bit long winded, sorry... 
I just wanted to get you thinking about this. Whether you do anything or not, at least you are aware of it now. So the next time you are 'GETTING SOMETHING FOR FREE' stop and think about how it's effecting other people and the next time you're getting your music for free, think about the band you are a fan of not getting what they are entitled to as artists.
SUPPORT YOUR BANDS, BUY THEIR ALBUMS!!
Love,
Katie
P.S. - I also don't know if any of you are politically active like I am, but I did a little research before I wrote this and found a bill in the House of Representatives "HR 1689" that will stop the illegal file sharing, by creating software that will stop this from happening on College campuses. Now this legislation isn't specifically geared toward protecting the artists, but it's a nice side effect of what it will do by stopping it on college campuses. Which is definitely a step in the right direction. I encourage you to contact your House Representative and let them know that you support this bill. I know, I know, you have NO IDEA who your representative is do you? LOL! It's okay, most people don't, I've made it easy for you to find him/her… follow the link below and you can find out who it is by state. You may not think your representative will listen to you, but trust me I've contacted mine several times and they do! It may not be them personally but it's someone on their staff and they will make sure you are heard. Think about it, you are in their district and they want your vote, so why wouldn't they at least listen to you??
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml
And here's the text of the bill…
http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.1689: