Internet kills Band?

[Golden Dragon]

Andy - Do you think the ability for people to download music from the internet is taking away from musician's livelihood?

I hear this complaint from some musicians, however I think this is a cop out for failing ability. In Europe, a fan is allowed to listen to any CD in a store before he spends his hard earned money. So, a discriminating fan selects the best for him. I think what is truly happening is bands are no longer able to put out crap and expect people to buy it, because the fans are now able to hear it on the internet before they go to the store. I know there are cheap people out there, but these people would have never bought the disc in the first place. I always buy originals, sometimes from the bargain bin if I can find them.

BTW, thanks for all the Sabbat stuff you sent me awhile back. The Sabbat patch was the first to be sewn on my new denim jacket. I placed it directly above the place where I later sewed a full size back patch of Mercyful Fate's 'Don't Break the Oath' album cover.

 

[Brooks]

The difference is that in Europe, you can sample it in the store, listen to it, decide if you want to buy it, then buy it. Thanks to the internet, one can download the entire CD, keep it to themselves, and do whatever they want with it, share it, or burn it to a disc for personal use.

I think that the internet is a great thing for up and coming artists, but the bands it really hurts are the not so big, but not entirely "small" ones. The bands that need the most record sales they can get to stay in the record labels "dont drop" list.

But hell, I'll be downloading the new Metallica album