Speaking out for music fans and
musicians everywhere…
Brooks & Dunn, multi-Platinum country music artists
“We want the next Brooks & Dunn to have a chance. Piracy hurts that chance. There are a lot of really talented hardworking people making music. For them it’s a job… If music gets stolen, it’s hard for them to continue. So help us ensure the future of good music.”
Missy Elliott, writer, producer, rapper, singer
“Hip Hop has always been about the attainable dream – about running your own business, your own club, your own fanzine. Turning your back on the bootleggers helps us pave the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs. We do our best to bring you the latest, hottest beats, and we appreciate it when our fans show their love and respect by going in that record store and buying the finished product.”
ZOEgirl Group, top-selling Christian artists
“When we were little girls, we didn’t see anything wrong with copying cassette tapes, because it was so easy to do, and we didn’t know any better. Well, we know better now, because with the availability of copying, uploading and downloading cds, this kind of thing has severely affected the funds that are available to record, market and package the music we now make. People need to be educated on the fact that if piracy continues at the current rate, very soon there will simply NOT BE the amazing music that is out there now.”
Craig Nicholls, front man for The Vines
“If you like our music, great, at least buy a copy before you burn one.”
Joshua Bell, internationally-known violinist
“I love music. I also love the Internet. Unfortunately with the Internet has come piracy. Piracy is very bad for music. What can you do to stop piracy- Refuse to participate; it’s as simple as that.”
Richard Carpenter, legendary songwriter/producer
“One of the many aspects of this issue that is so troubling, is the cavalier fashion in which so many approach it, as if it just isn’t serious business. It is of course…It’s theft, plain and simple; and we need to do all that we can to see that it stops!”
Mary J. Blige, multi-Platinum award winning artist
“If you create something and then someone takes it without your permission, that is stealing. It may sound harsh, but it is true.”
Mandy Moore, Platinum award winning artist
“While I admit that what I do for a living is a dream come true, it’s still a job and how I make a living. Illegally downloading music is the same thing as asking an artist to truly work 100 percent for free. I spend a great deal of time and money on charities, but at the end of the day I would expect and hope to be compensated fairly for my work. It’s not a lot to ask for.”
Peter Gabriel, Grammy award winning multi-Platinum artist
“In some ways we are the canary down the mine, the first battle ground, but behind us goes anyone who creates anything that can be turned into data whether its software, films pictures or music. Do people who create material have entitlement to get royalties? That’s a bigger question for society. I would argue that you would get better range, better quality and better choice if you do pay the creator something. We live in the luxury of the in between world at the moment where some people pay for the records while others get it for free. It is the part of it that is the market stall, and at a certain point there will be less fruit on the stall if there’s no money coming in.”
Keith Urban, Grammy award nominee
“Downloading can be a great way to share music, but downloading music illegally threatens the future of everyone that depends on you for their livelihood. Get music the right way! If you download, do it legally!”
Eve, multi-Platinum Grammy award winning artist
“We work really hard. We love our fans and we appreciate the love, but don’t steal from us, support us. Go in the stores and buy the records.”
Brad Paisley, Gold and Platinum award-winning country music artist
“My producer, my co-writers, my musicians have a big part in my albums. When you download music illegally, those folks don’t get paid.”
Sheryl Crow, Grammy award winning singer and songwriter
“Good music isn’t easy to come by. Musicians spend their entire lives perfecting their craft and honing their skills. Unfortunately, everyone has to make a living. If musicians had to work ‘day jobs’ to support themselves and their families, they wouldn’t have time or energy to be creative. Music fans cannot expect their favorite musicians to continue to produce quality albums if they are not willing to pay. People, including musicians, expect to be rewarded for a job well done. It’s all about supply and demand. If there is not demand, there will eventually be no supply.”
Shakira, Grammy-Winning Latin Pop Artist
“Making an album is a team effort, so when somebody pirates a record that not only affects the artist, but also the people who worked on it like co-producers, co-writers and musicians. Say no to piracy.”
The Dixie Chicks, Grammy award winning artists
“It may seem innocent enough, but every time you illegally download music a songwriter doesn’t get paid. And, every time you swap that music with your friends a new artist doesn’t get a chance. Respect the artists you love by not stealing their music. You’re in control. Support music, don’t steal it.”
Steven Curtis Chapman, Grammy-award winning Christian artist
“A lot more goes into a CD than it may appear. The price of a CD doesn’t just go back to the record company. Everyone who works with me to record and distribute my music makes a living and supports their families from CD sales as well. It’s a big network of people from my co-producer, the engineers, my band all the way to assembly line people who help to manufacture the CDs and the truck drivers who get them to the stores. There are some new legitimate websites like burnitfirst.com that provide an alternative to illegal burning. I want to encourage my listeners to use sites such as this, and to buy instead of burning illegally. On behalf of the team who works alongside me, we’d appreciate it.”
Steve Smith, member of Dirty Vegas
“It’s having an effect on us as a new band. If you stop buying the CDs in the shops, then we don’t get to make the music. We’re lucky, we got a chance. We’re only just starting out and when we were doing our album, we were thinking about what would make people want to go out and buy our album. We took a lot of care to make a decision on what artwork to have on the CD so that you’d want to read the booklet instead of having a tape that someone’s written Dirty Vegas on the front of. So if you are a real fan, then buy it.”
Carl Sturken & Evan Rogers, Grammy-award winning songwriters/producers
“How would you feel if someone came in to your home and began taking everything they wanted that looked cool, and gave you nothing in return? Pretty crazy, right? That’s how we feel about the piracy of music. When we were growing up, saving your money to go to the record store was one of the more important things in life. Most of the teenagers we know today are far more interested in buying a CD burner and downloading whatever music they want for free. We think that pretty much says it all.”
Sam Roberts, singer and songwriter
“As a musician and songwriter, there is no thought more satisfying than that of your songs and ideas being easily shared with people everywhere. Although I’m fairly new to the business side of things, there are a few realities that cannot be ignored. One is that artists should be compensated, like anyone else, for their hard work. I don¹t think that real music fans seek to knowingly short-change the people they respect and admire. These same fans, given a viable alternative to free downloading, would most certainly take it. So what this takes is a compromise on both sides between the labels and the fans. A CD shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. The music HAS to be the focus. Record labels have to be more conscientious and democratic when dealing with the people (music fans) who allow them to exist. To change this will take patience on everyone’s part. In the meantime, the artists themselves cannot and should not be discouraged to take the risk in making music their main focus in life.”
Troy Verges, Nashville Songwriters Association International’s (NSAI) 2002 Songwriter of the Year
“Go to your job every day next week and work, when payday rolls around, tell the boss you only want half your check. That’s what illegal downloading does to artists, musicians, songwriters and everyone that supports them. It’s wrong.”
Art Alexakis, lead singer of Everclear
“I think the fact that they are stealing recorded music is something that we have to stop. It’s taking money out of my kid’s mouth. That’s the way I look at it. It’s wrong. It’s inherently wrong. It’s stealing.”
Anastacia, international multi-Platinum selling artist
“It is particularly discouraging to young artists and songwriters trying to get their foot in the proverbial door of the music business. I suppose it should be a compliment that people dig your music so much that they’re swapping it online. But thievery is thievery. If you dig an artist that much, then you should want to help keep that artist alive by purchasing the actual recording.”
Martina McBride, singer of the number one country music hit “Wild Angels”
“Getting music the right way means there will be continued investment in new music, new artists, touring, new songs and everything fans love. Be a fan. Love music. And if you love music, get the real thing.”
Glen Ballard, award-winning songwriter and producer
“Piracy is an insidious act performed in an almost offhanded way by people who would never consider stealing anything else. Few people involved in the act of downloading music illegally would walk into a retail store and steal a CD of the same music, or take a CD player or computer to reproduce the music. It’s highly likely that you would be caught and arrested, and it’s also obvious that taking something without paying for it is a fundamentally unfair act. But as everyone knows, you can steal from the Internet without the fear of being caught. But the fundamental unfairness remains. We should honor our artists and their art by paying for their work, like you would pay for anything else. I work with artists, writers, singers and musicians who strive every day to be better at communicating. It’s hard work, and requires years of dedication. They deserve to be compensated for the joy they bring to so many others.”
Vanessa Carlton, singer and songwriter
“A Thousand Miles” and Platinum artist for “Be Not Nobody”: “I think it’s great that there are even more avenues today to expose music and new artists. And I’m all for getting a taste of something before you buy it, but when it becomes more than a taste and people begin hoarding the entire work, it becomes piracy which results in a system in which artists are not being rewarded for their works. Works which they put everything they have into creating and then working their asses off to support and promote.”
Dave Pomeroy, session musician
“I am a studio bassist, songwriter, producer, and an independent recording artist, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to make a living doing what I love for over 25 years. The illegal downloading of music has seriously threatened my livelihood and is already having a detrimental effect on the development of new artists and fresh music in all genres. Music is meant to be a shared, communal experience, but that doesn’t make it OK to steal it! Let’s get real and start respecting the rights of artists, musicians and songwriters. Thanks for listening. . .”
Stephony Smith, Nashville songwriter
“Piracy is this thorn that slowly, over time, will choke out the beautiful music we love and enjoy. The music industry can’t grow and prosper without the revenue it deserves. The people stealing our music never stop to think about where they would be without the music. Well, ‘without it’ is where we’re heading. As the Joni Mitchell song says ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’ Downloading is a parasite that will eventually kill the abundance of great music we have now. You don’t pay the writer, the writer becomes a salesman. You don’t pay the artist, the artist becomes a blue collar worker. Both are noble professions, but what happens to the music? It stops. Lets stop illegal downloading, and re-start the music business.”
Lamont Dozier, legendary songwriter, whose hits include “Stop! In The Name Of Love”
“Online music piracy through illegal file-sharing is killing the business as we know it today, and songwriters like myself won’t be able to write the songs if there’s no way for us to make a living. It’s the only job I know how to do! If you love your music, please love the people who are creating it for you. Let’s do this together. If you pay for the music, we the songwriters and artists can keep the whole world singing the songs.”
Hugh Prestwood, number-one Country Music hit songwriter
“This seemingly petty theft, if left unchecked, will destroy not only the music industry, but also the futures of all songwriters and recording artists. Without copyright protection-and the royalties it insures — artists and songwriters will have no long-term bankable financial security whatsoever. We have every right to use both the legal system and technology in any and every legitimate way possible to dissuade or thwart file-sharing. We also have a great obligation to our successors-all future songwriters and artists. We must make our stand here and now. We must be willing to stand up to a public that enjoys file-sharing but does not yet grasp the disastrous long-term repercussions of ‘free’ music.”
Musiq, Singer, multi-Platinum award winning artist
“AIJUSWANASEING” and “Juslisen”: “I think that people do need to be educated on the seriousness of music piracy because it cuts into hard working people’s money, especially the artists-people like me. So, it catches my attention. I don’t think that it’s cool, because if I’m putting in all of this work to see all of these returns and I don’t see the full capacity of my returns, because somebody is cutting in on it, we’ve got to do something about it. Right now you’ve got people thinking, ‘What…I’m only just doing this, I’m only just doing that.’ But, you’re only just doing this and this person is only just doing that, and it’s chipping away and it’s chipping away and chipping away. And, you don’t see it, but it’s a serious thing.”
Marcus Hummon, songwriter and playwright
“Downloading. . . it’s petty theft for those that don’t have the guts to go ahead and shoplift. I’ve heard a lot of creative defenses on the practice; but in the end, musicians, engineers, song-writers, and others suffer. It’s not an ethical grey area, it’s just wrong.”
Matraca Berg, co-writer of 1997 CMA Song of the Year “Strawberry Wine”
“Most songwriters are not rich or famous. They are hardworking craftsmen who depend on these royalties to provide for their children. Stealing music is stealing from their families.”
Rivers Rutherford – co-writer of 2001 Billboard Country Song of the Year
“The average songwriters had to be very fortunate to make any money at all from his craft. Illegal Internet downloading significantly reduces the income of people who are not making millions from touring, t-shirt sales, etc., but merely trying to make a decent living. Downloading can literally make it impossible for a songwriter to support himself with his craft.”