As the endless illegal download debate continues, I turn to my good friend and ex drummer who posted this on a forum yesterday. This sums up my opinion on the subject perfectly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Straight from the excellent salon.com website feature is a piece from Tim O' Reilly, founder and president of O'Reilly & Associates, thought by many to be the best computer book publisher in the world, he asserts,
"Why would you pay for a song that you could get for free? For the same reason that you will buy a book that you could borrow from the public library or buy a DVD of a movie that you could watch on television or rent for the weekend. Convenience, ease-of-use, selection, ability to find what you want, and for enthusiasts, the sheer pleasure of owning something you treasure."
For me, half the pleasure of music is owning the hard copy. I think there's tremendous beauty in a collection of either vinyl or CD and as such I will continue to buy it. I remember paying a price for an original vinyl copy of Howlin' Wolf's This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album He Doesn't Like It He Didn't Like His Electric Guitar At First Either from a mail order Blues shop in Wales after years of searching for it. This is an album that has yet to see a CD re-issue. The pure excitement of owning this rare and hard to find album is perhaps something only committed music fans will appreciate, but I'm sure I wouldn't get the same pleasure from a download of it, regardless of whether I've paid for it or not.
Out of all the people who download music for nothing it atsonishes me most when musicians themselves do it.
