Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Comment on Downloading

Hmm... So after receiving a comment on one of my reviews asking where the link to the music is, I feel the need to say a few things here.
I personally do not have a big problem with people downloading music. We've all done it. We've all burned cdr copies of cd's from our friends. Those of us that are old enough have made cassette copies of albums-I've still got boxes full of 'em. That being said, I did not create this blog to be a place to download other peoples' albums. My intention was to make this a place to express my opinions about some somewhat obscure albums and hopefully give you another perspective about them and let you decide for yourself whether you want to seek them out or not. I started creating the Transmissions From Beyond podcasts to allow you to hear some songs off of the albums discussed to give you even more information. My hope is that if you dig something, you will search it out and buy it, but at the very least, I want people to listen to and discover more music that maybe they wouldn't have found otherwise.
This blog is affiliated with the band Wo Fat. We have 2 albums for sale in lots of different places. It cost us a lot of money to make those records: It costs money to record. It costs money to have artwork designed. It costs money to press cd's. It costs a lot more money to press vinyl. It costs money to print inserts and sleeves. It costs money to make T shirts. And on and on... Making music and making it available to people is not free, especially if you don't want it done in a half-assed manner. If you like something, you should try and support it as best you can. If you are reading this blog, most musicians that you probably dig and most of the independent record labels that deal with this type of music, do not have nor do they make a lot of money. This is a labor of love. It's about the music. Why would you want to screw over something that you like? You're not "stickin' it to the man" by downloading a Nebula album. Maybe you are if it's T Pain or TI or some such major label foolishness. But the underground needs support. And supporting underground music IS sticking it to the man! Solid.
Some sites that have a lot of stuff available for download ask that you share as much as you download or that you make a certain amount of posts in order to download so that you are contributing to the "community." I propose that instead of contributing in that way, that you buy as much as you download. Give back to the people that are entertaining you and rocking your world.
I should also say that I know of a number of sites where you can download our albums for free and ultimately, I'm ok with that. I'd rather that you buy it from us of course, but in the end, I want people listening to it and grooving on it more than I want to get paid for it. Like I said, it's all about the music, man.
Just some things to think about as you surf the void.


Support underground music.
Spread the Fuzz.
Long live Analog Rock and Roll!