Indie Artists & Songwriters

If you are an indie artist or songwriter. This page and the collection of pages cited here (and under the "Indies" menu (under the "Start" tab up above) are just for you.

You may be the biggest potential influence in this whole argument about the theft of music and whether it's good or bad. If you think it is good, we understand why you might think that way, but we disagree and we ask you to hear us out because if we are right, your career is on the line.

The Arguments For and Against Illegal File Sharing

For

Against
It's unstoppable: We can't fight it, so why try. It IS stoppable!!! Comprehensive technical means have been deployed to stop virtually all spam from reaching your inbox. Many of the same means and others can be the comprehensive solution that stops virtually all illegal file sharing. See our recommendations here.
It's advertising: If you are an indie artist, people will hear your music, pass it around to friends and then everybody will buy your CDs, come to you shows, buy your T-shirts, etc. If you are a songwriter, people will hear your songs and want more or some "big" band or publisher will hear your work and give you commercial opportunities. While there may be some cases and some artists and/or songwriters for which this business model works, the artist/songwriter should have be the one that makes this marketing decision, not have it thrust on them by everyone and anyone who decides they want to steal a music file. In the "early days" (Napster, circa 2000), perhaps this argument held some water. But now, there are millions of artists on Myspace and Facebook, all clamoring for your attention. The best they can hope for is to garner a small regional following.
It's Pro-Fan: My fans expect it, everybody's doing it and if I take a stand against it, my fans will think I'm against them. We can only ask you to let your conscience be your guide. It is stealing (in virtually all jurisdictions) and we all know it. If you simply explain to your fans that it hurts you and hurts your ability to bring your music to them, we think many of them will understand and applaud you for your courage and honesty.
It works: It's a viable business model and an acceptable alternative in these times to the old music business label major model. Yes, it works for some artists and to a certain degree (read our analysis here), but slowly and inexorably, it is killing the music industry.

Read These Pages

The pages linked below expand on all of the points above.

Note: These links are also contained in the "Start" menu (under "Indies") at the top of every page.

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