David Lowery On the Ethics of Music Piracy

New submitter Mystakaphoros writes "Musician David Lowery (of Cracker fame) takes NPR intern Emily White to task for her stance on paying for (or failing to pay for) music. Quoting: 'By allowing the artist to treat his/her work as actual property, the artist can decide how to monetize his or her work. This system has worked very well for fans and artists. Now we are being asked to undo this not because we think this is a bad or unfair way to compensate artists but simply because it is technologically possible for corporations or individuals to exploit artists work without their permission on a massive scale and globally. We are being asked to continue to let these companies violate the law without being punished or prosecuted. We are being asked to change our morality and principals to match what I think are immoral and unethical business models.'"

Comments

Re:False assumptions from gatekeepers

[jedidiah]

This "it's expensive" argument is such a joke.

If you are a real musician, all you need to do is sit down and point yourself at a microphone. Many older masterpieces are nothing more than this.

Making the original is a matter of creativity which is nearly impossible to quantify.

However, if you are any good at your job then laying it down should be trivial. If this is not the case then it is good that the economics of the situation is driving you out of the market.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.