A Landslide Rant

I was watching Paladium TV earlier this evening where Fleetwood Mac played "Landslide" on stage. The song reminded me of when I played the song for my grandmother on the guitar shortly before she passed away. Since then the song belonged to her and my fond memories of our time together. Before the song was over I downloaded it from iTunes and synced it to my iPod for my drive to work tomorrow.

What does this have to do with technology? I say plenty in an age where music and other artistry is reduced to bits that can be transferred without regard to copyright or other ethics. I believe that if we expect to continue to listen to great music we need to support those artists who create art that we understand, appreciate, and relate to.

The Internet is bringing us closer to artists and other content creators on a more personal level than ever before. The faceless corporations who contract these artists are being replaced by Internet tools and services that will spread thoughts and ideas better than any music label ever could.

Unfortunately on the other side we have peer to peer services that help people steal this content, robbing from those who are due a royalty for creating great content. The only ethical thing to do is support commerce and the artists you appreciate by purchasing your music in a respectable manner.