One of the main arguments for file sharing is that musicians don’t suffer from it. The assumption is that only middlemen, the record companies, would disappear. In this assumption it is also said that musicians should do what they always have done.
For some reason this means selling everything but their music: Keyrings, fridge magnets, lighters, t-shirts and posters. The musician as an ambulating peddler of merchandise. This argument is very weak. We musicians should concentrate on creating music, and do what we always have done to earn money, but musicians have first and foremost tried to earn money on their music.
Some bands, of course. Like Kiss for instance, has been rich on their business to sell merchandise. But this is reserved for a tiny number of artists in the world. No one wants to buy a small bands thingies just because they exist.
Music should be the musicians source of income. I can’t see private copying as a threat, but piracy services can hardly be beneficial for anyone trying to make an artistic living.
