Burn to Share, and then BUY

On my recently-arrived new Braddigan CD, The Captive, a message is written in small font on the back right corner. "Burn to Share, and then Buy," it says. Now, before going into my spiel I should tell you a little bit about Braddigan. He is Brad Corrigan, formerly of Dispatch, and he is quite an understanding fella. He helped found an organization called Love, Light, & Melody, which helps a Nicaraguan community and most of his songs deal with calls to action, and inspiration, and embracing change, and one, even "explores the dichotomy of light and dark through the eyes of a little girl living in a trash dump who, despite being surrounded by human waste, smiles at every day with an infectious joy." Yeah. So you can deduce that Braddigan is a pretty socially conscious guy. He clearly believes in doing his part to help those who are less privileged. He wants to reach out, he wants to save, and he wants to understand.
Which brings us back to that little message on the back of his CD cover. "Burn to Share, and then Buy." This is as brilliantly understanding as a musician can get in regard to illegal sharing of music. Braddigan knows that people will burn music for each other, and he just asks that once you receive a burned copy, if you like the music enough that you would have bought the album otherwise, shell out that $10.00 and pay your respects to the artist, who is, believe it or not, trying to make a living. Lawyers need to acknowledge this philosophy, and understand that music pirates aren't usually out to get as much free stuff as they possibly can. They are are out to get music. They are out to learn about their favorite bands, listen to their songs, and enjoy music simply without paying 99 cents any time they want to try something new. Lawyers should show a little understanding. Music sharing is a community activity. Music brings people together in every way, and through Internet file-sharing caters to the convenience of the people, albeit not the record labels.
Of course, lawyers aren't the only ones who should take something away from Braddigan's message. Customers need to get that last word imprinted in their heads. "BUY." Say a friend burns you the new Rilo Kiley CD. You love it. You listen to it ten times a day and declare them your new favorite band. And yet, even with them being your "favorite band," you can't scrape together enough cash to give Jenny Lewis a little appreciation. Yes, music is an art. But in today's world it has become enough of a business that people need to respect the businessmen (bands, artists) and pay up. If one loves music as much as they claim, they shouldn't oppose giving their favorite artists money, which will, of course, only persuade the artist to continue making the music one loves so much.

Photo credit: Aaron Chang