You know, there's a joke amongst some of my friends and I going on about file sharing and it's basically that it seems almost a waste to share because we usually end up going out and buying the music afterwards anyway. If we don't, it's usually because we end up not liking it, and then we just never listen to it again. It's the sharing that educates us to the music and turns us on to the artists that the major companies refuse to promote. That's what's so fucking important about being able to file share!
Years ago, we would go over to a friend's home and listen to their records and make some decisions from hearing it in their home. We didn't have to pay an admission fee to hear the music. Now that many of us are parts of international communities, we can't always do that very easily. This is our way of turning a friend onto the music that we find and like. Most people that I know who share this way are avid buyers of music, be it CDs, digital downloads, vinyl or whatever form they find. That includes concerts and other merchandise.
Funny thing is, I've also found that I've made friends with many musicians and other industry people and they sometimes are the biggest file sharers! It's all done privately and almost none of us will share with people whom we know won't ever go out and buy. It's part of the supportive ethics of the community. Personally, I haven't used a file sharing program like Grokster, etc., for about 2 years now, mostly because I got tired of it crashing my computer. Besides, I have more than enough music to keep me busy and if you know me, you know that I still have been able to keep up with the latest of my prefered genres.
It's the street corner dealers, mostly of massive copies of DVDs that should be taken down as they don't have the artists interests at heart.
And it always bothers me that the big wigs at the top always refuse to include the crapped-out economy. When people have to shell out more for gas and other essentials, on top of losing jobs or not getting raises, they have less descretionary income.
Lastly, I still have never been able to figure out exactly how they get their figures. I have a very, very strong suspicion that absolutely none of the DIYers, which there are a whole lot more of now, never, ever, get factored into the equation.
