Jeff Tweedy on downloading 


Wired News has a good interview with Jeff Tweedy from Wilco about music downloading. Here's my take on his take. 

Jeff Tweedy did a good interview with Wired News around the current issues the industry is facing with downloading . I don't think he really said too much I haven't heard before, but I think he did express things in a new way that I appreciate.

From a major artist's perspective, downloading isn't a bad thing. It can be a good thing because it gets them more exposure and gets more fans to their concerts (where most of their money is made anyway). I think putting out music for free is a great boon to independent artists too since it can help them find an audience.

So who does downloading hurt? It hurts the indie labels and the artists signed to those labels. These are the labels and artists who are struggling and where every lost album sale means real money. Most of the smaller, independent labels are offering the kinds of terms to their artists that major label artists would kill for. In addition, releases on these labels are usually a lot cheaper than the major labels because they want to get the music into your hands.

Next time you download a cool indie album off your file-sharing network, if you like it, consider going to the label or artist's website and buying a copy. It'll keep them both putting out the music you like. 

Posted: Tue - November 16, 2004 at 06:10 PM          

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