>>>Free music seems to me to be a fine way to advertise a touring artist who is making money off of the shows.
I'm not entirely sure how the economics work for major labels, but for an indie musician (as I am one), making a tour BREAK EVEN is difficult. It's entirely possible to lose money on tour (too possible, actually). Distributing free music can help indies get heard, but buying CDs is one of the only ways I can make money from the black hole called recording costs. So by all means listen to the music, but support the scene and give us a means to keep doing what we do by buying a CD or merch and spreading the word.
And note: the RIAA is evil. They have no legal imperative to actually distribute money to artists (and they're always trying to find ways to kill 1. creativity and 2. indies).
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>>>Free music seems to me to be a fine way to advertise a touring artist who is making money off of the shows.
I'm not entirely sure how the economics work for major labels, but for an indie musician (as I am one), making a tour BREAK EVEN is difficult. It's entirely possible to lose money on tour (too possible, actually). Distributing free music can help indies get heard, but buying CDs is one of the only ways I can make money from the black hole called recording costs. So by all means listen to the music, but support the scene and give us a means to keep doing what we do by buying a CD or merch and spreading the word.
And note: the RIAA is evil. They have no legal imperative to actually distribute money to artists (and they're always trying to find ways to kill 1. creativity and 2. indies).