Reading through the Nigerian Piracy article reminded me of an idea I maintain that most of my friends disagree with me on: that illegal music downloads/piracy/ this idea of mass distribution by those not in the “industry” actually sustains and promotes authenticity in a way. The music industry is a horrible corporate monster (as I like to think Adorno would agree with) that makes bands and artists struggle through years of toil before a profit-motivated record company CEO arbitrarily picks them because they have a hunch that’s where the market is going. With the internet all bets are off. Anyone can stream their music or put it up for download and get their name out there without having to suck up to the elite of the industry just for the chance to succeed. Bypassing this middle man, music spreading as rapidly as it does illegally through downloading puts essentially the “yay” or “nay” decision in the hands of the consumers who are, let’s not forget, also the fans. Of course this becomes problematic once a band wants to make any sort of money through their music, but that is what touring is for, right?
Radiohead just showed us all how fed up with the music industry they are by actually supporting this secondary system and releasing their newest album, In Rainbows, free on the internet. Ironically enough, even though I could have formally received it for free via their website, I still downloaded it illegally.
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