by John Durant

Created on: January 06, 2008   Last Updated: April 25, 2009

Downloading music for free can help aspiring unheard artists get much needed publicity, but only if you're downloading music that the artist has authorized for that purpose. Downloading free unauthorized copies of music that the artist only offers for sale is stealing, no matter how you want to justify it.

Most recording artists I know in this business aren't multi-millionaires. The cold hard reality is the vast majority of them have a hard time paying their bills just like anyone else. They work day jobs to make ends meet, and dream about the day when they might be able to work full time in the music business. Don't assume that all recording artists are consumed with greed, because most would be happy just to make enough money to consistently pay their bills.

People seem to think that by stealing an artists work they're somehow doing the artist a great favor by helping them to get noticed. If people were that sincere about promoting an artist they really liked, they'd join an artists fan club or Online Street Team. Most artists have MySpace Music accounts or websites where you can easily contact them, so why not just ask the artist first before you illegally download their songs, and let the artist make the decision whether or not to offer free copies to you for promotional purposes?

The answer to that question is simple; because people who download music illegally are just being selfish, and they really don't care about the artists at all. They just want to fill their Ipods and hard drives with great new music at someone else's expense, even though they'd be the first to cry to the police if someone was stealing from them. I think most people would be upset if I siphoned ten gallons of gas out of their car without their permission for "promotional purposes" so I could get to my next gig.

Downloading AUTHORIZED music for free can help unheard musicians to get noticed, and artists offer these free downloads at great expense to themselves. Most professional productions cost thousands of dollars; and even if an artist is signed to a major label, they usually have to pick up these costs themselves. The labels deduct these production and promotion costs from artists royalties and advances, and many artists end up walking away with very little or nothing, even if their album has a hit single.

As an independent artist, I don't mind offering my music to the public free of charge for promotional purposes, but I prefer to make the decision whether or not to give my property away for free.

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