Notes from the Underground

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Three: Embrace file sharing

Fortunately, the Internet allows a wide audience to sample a huge array of music. File-sharing networks and free downloads off an artist's Web page are roughly like playing in the subway. The Internet can connect artists with a potential audience at almost no cost, while exposing listeners to artists and styles they may not hear on the radio.

I profit tremendously when people download my music. The free cyber-samples make listeners more likely to attend my concerts and request my songs on the radio. On the other hand, big artists do indeed lose with file sharing, and it's their profits on which the industry depends for survival. That's why the big names tend to fight the trend. But it's a fight they will eventually lose, and that won't be a bad thing either for bands or for fans. Much as the movie industry figured out how to profit from the VCR, record companies should look harder for ways to profit from the Internet. They'll probably succeed when they learn to be more nimble and pay more attention to the particular tastes of a diverse audience. Meanwhile, file sharing helps small artists find their audience and make a decent living -- a truer expression of the free market in music. Record companies will just have to get better at serving their customers.

Nicholas Thompson is a senior editor at Legal Affairs. His latest CD, Lend Me Your Ears, can be purchased at his Web site, www.nickthompson.com. Reprinted from The Washington Monthly (Sept. 2003). Subscriptions: $44.95/yr. (10 issues) from 733 15th St. NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC 20005.

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