Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Former pop music star Janis Ian has USA Today article in defense of Napster-like programs. She says:
On the first day I posted downloadable music, my merchandise sales tripled, and they have stayed that way ever since. I'm not about to become a zillionaire as a result, but I am making more money. At a time when radio playlists are tighter and any kind of exposure is hard to come by, 365,000 copies of my work now will be heard. Even if only 3% of those people come to concerts or buy my CDs, I've gained about 10,000 new fans this year.

On the first day I posted downloadable music, my merchandise sales tripled, and they have stayed that way ever since. I'm not about to become a zillionaire as a result, but I am making more money. At a time when radio playlists are tighter and any kind of exposure is hard to come by, 365,000 copies of my work now will be heard. Even if only 3% of those people come to concerts or buy my CDs, I've gained about 10,000 new fans this year.

Many artists now benefit greatly from the free-download systems the RIAA seeks to destroy. ... The RIAA and the entrenched music industry argue that free downloads are threats. The music industry had exactly the same response to the advent of reel-to-reel home tape recorders, cassettes, DATs, minidiscs, VCRs, music videos, MTV and a host of other products and services.


There is more on her site. Her best-known song is At Seventeen. She answers questions here.

Here are a couple of new sites I found that defend online free speech rights against attack by the copyright lobby: Digital Speech and Public Knowledge.

Update: Here is another article on how the RIAA is unhappy with Ian.

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