I have been refraining from saying so much online regarding the following topic because there is a fine line between useful public relations and self-aggrandizement. But, in light of stark generational differences, I have learned that there are many people who just don't realize. Therefore, let me say the barenaked following and I'll leave it at that.
I came across a blog today that was offering the two Kayo Dot albums and the Tartar Lamb album as full, free downloads via megaupload or other similar file transfer sites. I will speak only of Tartar Lamb for now - an album that was 100% self-financed by maxing out my credit cards and going through dumbfoundingly brutal circumstances on the road; an album that took two years to produce. At the time of this writing, 174 people had downloaded Sixty Metonymies via the aforementioned blog alone. Anyway, the point is: musicians being Anti-Downloading is NOT an issue of greed. Just because you have seen someone's name in a magazine or on a messageboard does NOT mean that they are doing well. Who knows if downloading is a big deal for rich artists like Metallica? I sure don't. But probably every single person that reads my blog, and the blog I complained about above, is a fan of the whole world of music where every CD sale matters in a big way, makes a difference whether your artists can eat on tour or not, makes a difference whether they can pay their bills at home, and makes a difference whether a label will have the confidence in sales to help their artists make another record in the future. Think about it this way too: if merely one-sixth of the Kayo Dot fans on myspace bought a CD directly from the band, that would generate as much income as a person makes in the entirety of a year working a full-time job for a meager wage. So there is clearly something unbalanced about the number of people whose lives have been enhanced by our hard work vs. our personal situations. I'm sure this also applies to 95% of all the bands that we listen to and claim to love so much.
Of course, this is not a new thought, nor am I saying anything revolutionary here. I just decided to post this in case a reader out there was unaware.
