Interesting: new band Carbon Silicon, formed with members of the Clash and Generation X, is encouraging fans to download and share their music. This is hardly new of course, bands like the Grateful Dead have been doing it since the ’60s, but in the context of electronic downloads it is refreshing to see some experienced artists braving the snotty disapproval of the music industry.
The music industries argument is that valuable stuff like your songs should never be given away for free: you undercut your sales and reputation. Many bands have found that this is not necessarily the case. Carbon Silicon say, for example, the effect is beneficial and sales rise as do many others experimenting with this method. Not only that, by trusting their fans they build a relationship and loyalty. One suspects the music industries agenda is more to do with free downloading. Anything that encourages the view that if it is electronically obtainable for free it is legitimate is not one they wish to encourage, given their problems with peer to peer systems.
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