Greetings, metalheads
and music fans in general. My name is Erin Fox and I am a heavy metal
journalist. I’ve been a fan of heavy metal music since I first heard KISS when I
was five years old. I remember my father taking me to the record store and
buying the “Detroit Rock City” 45 RPM vinyl for me, which I subsequently took to
my first grade music class and played, much to the dismay of my music teacher.
The reason I’ve chosen to share this experience with you is because I care very
deeply about music is because more and more artists are feeling the terrible
burden caused by illegal downloading of records. One must simply look at the
Billboard statistics in order to understand that across the board, individual
record sales are in decline. What many fans fail to realize is the tremendous
impact this activity has on the artists that make the music we all love so much.
I urge you to take a moment of your time to read further and consider the
negative implications of such actions.
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, tape
trading was a routine thing. These types of reproductions did more to promote
the records and let people know about bands than anything else. Tapes were often
poor quality recordings with a short lifespan. You couldn’t see the cover
artwork, read the lyrics or look at pictures of the groups. In short, most
cassette recordings were low-grade, inferior representations of musical works
that more than anything else, inspired fans to head to the record store and pick
up a band’s new album. In short, tape trading helped bands because the activity
was limited in scope and helped album sales a great deal. Emerging bands
benefited the most from this promotion.
The Internet has changed all of
that.
Piracy on the Internet is rampant, especially due to the outdated
thinking that allows records to be released in certain countries before others.
This problem is something that record labels can and should do something about.
How do labels expect their fans to resist downloading CDs illegally when they
have been released in Europe three months to a year prior? While this sort of
marketing offered fans in varying parts of the world the chance to hear the
latest music from their favorite, homegrown artists first and allowed emerging
acts to prove their worth on the road supporting new records on tour before
heading to the US, it does nothing but damage to the careers of artists in the
present day. Responsible labels need to cease this practice and one way you can
support your favorite bands is by asking they do so immediately. Find the
label’s website and send a general e-mail to the label’s representatives letting
them know your thoughts on the matter. Tell them you support your favorite bands
by purchasing music and don’t wish to see the music distributed on the Internet
before its release in the US. This is one important thing you can do to help
stop the spread of illegal downloading.
Secondly, and most importantly,
just don’t do it. Take it even further. Don’t condone the activities of any of
your friends, co-workers and family members who do. Any time you download an
artist’s work, you’re taking food off of the plates of those artists, their
label representatives, venue workers, radio station personnel, the record store
owners and employees, the people who cover these artists in the media and
everyone else that has invested time and energy to make the music happen. To put
it bluntly, you’re stealing and that’s wrong. Would you step into a musician’s
home and take food from his refrigerator? Of course you wouldn’t. But illegal
downloading does exactly that, just in an indirect manner. It’s easy to do, it
provides instant gratification and it gives you entertainment on demand with no
cost to you. Please think about the cost to others. Please think about the bands
that travel in vans around the country that perform every night and can’t afford
to feed themselves because everyone has downloaded their albums. Please
understand that in doing this, you harm more people than you can realize. Even
large bands, with tremendous fanbases are affected. Major bands like Megadeth
are selling a small fraction of the amount of records they should be selling.
Large amounts of money must be invested in order to make an album from such a
major act come to fruition. People often think that the stars they enjoy are
rich beyond their wildest dreams, and in very few cases is this true. Everyone
knows Megadeth has millions of fans, fantastic promotion and most of all, the
awesome music that we all enjoy so very much. So why aren’t bands like these
selling records in proportion to their audiences? Because vast numbers of people
are stealing, that’s the plain and simple truth.
Sooner or later, we
will all lose from these practices. Smaller bands must sell a certain amount of
records to be worth investing in and when these bands don’t meet sales
standards, they are dropped from their labels. These bands can no longer afford
to pay to make quality records, to visit your town on tour, to buy professional
equipment or enlist the services of those needed to bring their art to the
masses. These are people who have invested their lives to entertain you and
theirs sacrifices equal the highest cost that is paid in this entire scenario.
How would it make you feel to invest years of time, to sacrifice relationships
with friends and family, to believe in your work so much that you would do
anything to make your dreams happen, only to have those dreams shattered by
selfish individuals who think they are above paying for their entertainment?
Never download illegally and refuse to support anyone who does.
Let’s
take a moment and really think about the way we behave. Let’s consider the
consequences of our actions and the harm done to others when downloading music
without paying for it.
You say you love metal. So prove it. Show your
support for the bands that work so hard to make great music and the labels that
make it all happen by distributing this material to the public. So who am I to
stand up on a soapbox and preach about illegal downloading? I am nothing more
than one metal fan that truly cares about the success of artists and their
careers. But if more fans like me would take a stand against this activity that
affects thousands and thousands of musicians, the metal community would be
exponentially better off as a result. Do your part and make your own stand for
the sake of the artists who devote their time, energy, inspiration, creativity
and in many cases, their lives to entertain us all. Thanks for listening.
