To a Mother Concerned About File Sharing by Cameron Mizell

By Cameron Mizell
Brooklyn, NY

I have a teenage son who tells me his pirating music is no big deal. Since he is a musician himself, I point out to him that someday that’s going to be his money people are stealing. But he remains unphased.

He tells me the record sales make money for the record label, not the artist. He says that the artists make all their money from touring and live concerts. He thinks the pirated music promotes the concerts and therefore helps the artist make more money. I still don’t allow pirating in my house.

But tell me what you think – as artists out there having your work “shared,” are you just glad to have it being enjoyed, or does it bother you? Admittedly, he is stealing music that is recorded by major record labels, so maybe its different than the independent musician working for his living. But I’d still like to hear what you think.

Thanks,
Valerie

Hi Valerie -

Thanks for your question. Unauthorized copying of music has been an issue ever since sheet music was invented. The people that sold sheet music were upset once music could be recorded. Who would buy sheet music if you could just play a record? They were worried it was going to drive them out of business! Yet somehow, it all worked out.

Musicians can make a living in many ways. I have friends that support themselves entirely as working musicians without selling recorded music. One reason they’re so good is because they have listened to and studied vast amounts of music. Much of their collection is acquired by hanging out, listening, trading, and copying each others music (though in most cases, at least one of them bought it at some point). I don’t know what instrument your son plays, but it would be in his best interest to listen to everyone that is considered a master of that instrument. Learn to appreciate the differences. All genres, all eras of music.

When I initially read your son’s argument, I thought, “I’ve heard this before.” It’s a popular stance people take, I suppose to rid themselves of the guilt for not paying for something. There’s some truth in it, but it’s really an ignorant answer to a much more complex question. I believe we all have the responsibility of being educated consumers, so if you’re going to be consuming a lot of music, learn how you can do it in a way that truly helps the musicians you love.

It’s true that when you buy an album, most of the money goes to a record label and distributor, and not the artist. However, the artist does get paid by the record label. Why else would all these famous (and not famous) bands sign a record deal? The musicians are paid something called an advance, which is essentially a forward payment on royalties. Because most artists will try to negotiate for a large advance, chances are they won’t make royalties for a long time.

When record labels don’t sell enough of an artists’ album (whether this has anything to do with file sharing or not), they drop the artist. That means the artist will not get another advance to do another record. Meanwhile, the label still owns all the music the artist recorded while under contract. At that point, chances of the artist making even a small amount of royalties from the label is pretty slim and your son’s argument is more or less true.

Today, many artists who used to be signed to a major label are going the independent route, and independent artists like myself can carve out a living selling music without ever signing a record deal. But where labels acted as a bank and put out the money to record the album, it’s now a cost that falls entirely on the artist. So instead of getting an advance, the artist is starting out in the hole on every project. I’m not saying they’re taking out a second mortgage, but they’re putting in hard earned money to share some music with the world.

From personal experience, I sell my music online at stores like iTunes, and I rely on that income right now to support myself and my wife. Currently I’d say about half of my income is generated by music sales. I don’t make a ton of money, but since I’m completely independent every sale goes a long way. In most cases, I make anywhere from 64% to 100% of the retail price. The same technology that makes file sharing so easy also allows me to make a living selling my music. As more musicians go the independent route, it will be increasingly difficult to use the excuse that buying music doesn’t help the artist.

Even though I rely on music sales to make a living, I’m not opposed to people copying my music. I’ve received a few emails from high school guitarists that copied my music from a friend and are really into it. It’s flattering, with all the freely available great music out there, that these kids dig mine. It’s doubtful they would have found it if it wasn’t free, and even more doubtful that they would have bought it. But now they know me, now they’ve exchanged emails with me. I bet they’ll share my music with a few friends and some of them will buy an album in the future.

One of my concerns with online file sharing for a young musician is the lack of interaction with other musicians. Part of the learning experience comes from listening with friends, having somebody that’s intimately familiar with an artist’s style point out the nuances in their songwriting or playing. I feel like I’d be missing out on that if I were just downloading gobs of tracks off a P2P site. Maybe I sound like the guy that walked six miles in the snow uphill both ways to every gig reminiscing about the old days of illegal music trading (2001?), but just as music is more fun to play with other musicians, it’s also more fun to listen in a group.

I’ve got nothing against file sharing, and I think your son should be hanging out with his musician friends, sharing music and getting excited about what they’re hearing. But if you really love an artist, at some point you gotta throw him some bones. Sure, some artists make more money touring, but only if you actually go to their show and buy a t-shirt or CD. Every professional musician I know spends a good deal on music–buying CDs, going to shows, trying to support their favorite artists. I encourage you to talk to your son about finding ways to support the artists he likes. It might not be much now, but as he gets older, these habits will stick with him.

As you can tell, this is a multifaceted issue. To sum up how I feel about it:

Downloading just for the sake of hording music does no good. As a musician, there is tremendous value in sharing, trading, and talking about music together. But let’s face it, the only way to truly support an artist is to pay for something (or let them crash on your couch while they’re touring).

To answer your question directly, I’m thrilled people enjoy my music enough to share it with their friends, but not as thrilled as when somebody buys an album. That always makes me smile. People who buy my music are truly supporting my career.

About the author

Cameron is a freelance guitarist, producer, and consultant in Brooklyn, NY. He performs regularly throughout New York City with his jazz trio and several other groups. Learn more at his website, and check out his latest album, Tributary!

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Wow, Cameron, what a thoughtful post! I have a lot to think about now before I start blogging my own response.

Thank you for writing this.

Carla

Carla Lynne Hall
4/16/2009