Back in the day bands used to make cassette copys of their demo albums and sell or trade them all over the world for publicity. On one tape I recieved was a compilation of different bands from the west coast, including Metallica. Wishing to hear more of their music, I proceeded to contact the band. Tapes were exchanged, and I was also sent tapes of other acts for free. My point is, it was ok to trade music before the multi million dollar contract was signed. I feel that music sharing via Napster, or other sources is like trading tapes with one million of my closest friends. I also feel that if I am going to pay anywhere between $13 and $20 for a CD, I also bought the rights to do whatever I want with it.
Slashdot Mirror
Back in the day bands used to make cassette copys of their demo albums and sell or trade them all over the world for publicity. On one tape I recieved was a compilation of different bands from the west coast, including Metallica. Wishing to hear more of their music, I proceeded to contact the band. Tapes were exchanged, and I was also sent tapes of other acts for free. My point is, it was ok to trade music before the multi million dollar contract was signed. I feel that music sharing via Napster, or other sources is like trading tapes with one million of my closest friends. I also feel that if I am going to pay anywhere between $13 and $20 for a CD, I also bought the rights to do whatever I want with it.