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Reality Alert |
This USA Today article documents a few bands that have benefited from file-sharing, despite the RIAA's apocalyptic view of P2P networks.
"I definitely believe that file sharing has helped our business," Guster guitarist Ryan Miller says. "We've sold only a couple hundred thousand copies of each of our last albums. We've never made a cent from our album sales, so we don't really see that money anyway."
The notion that bands could make more money because people steal their music seems counterintuitive. But Barnaby Greenberg, who manages Donna the Buffalo, says file sharing may help "heavy-touring acts that aren't depending on huge releases."
1. I would advise all independent bands to have at least 3 of their tracks available online. File sharing almost always helps bands because most people will not buy a CD without hearing it first, and if you can create a buzz online, you are almost where you need to be. Of course, some people respect the artists and use file sharing as a form of sampling, and if they enjoy it, they will purchase the CD or product, while some people download everything and never support the artists. Either way, it works out in your favor. I would not have purchased half of the CD;s in my collection without downloading tracks first.
Posted at 5:58AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Steve Moore