Tufts musicians weigh in on file-sharing controversy

Tuesday's article on file-sharing examined the effect of the RIAA crackdown on college students. This article explores the effects of file-sharing on the music industry and Tufts' community of musicians.

The average music downloader's positive view of file-sharing does not mesh with that of the recording industry: witness the RIAA's recent crackdown on illegal file-sharers, as detailed in Tuesday's article. But what of musicians? Is their view of file-sharing in line with that of the average listener or that of the RIAA?

The answer depends on the artist's current career status and future goals. Among musicians at Tufts, the general consensus is that file-sharing is an invaluable promotional tool for those artists seeking to achieve cult rather than mainstream success.

Senior Jordan Kolasinski is the co-creator of Tufts' Jumbo Audio Project, an annual CD compilation of songs by Tufts musicians that is now entering its third year. A former Concert Board president and a musician himself, Kolasinki is certain that "sharing music is a tremendously effective way to promote artists."

"Artists like John Mayer or even Tufts' own Guster have had huge sales and popularity, due in large part to the fact that everyone has at least one of their songs on their playlists," he said.

Sophomore Dave Crawley says he has bought more records since he started downloading music. "File-sharing has exposed me to tons of artists I probably would never have listened to otherwise," Crawley said. "I think it helps small, independent artists a lot by getting their names and music out to the public."

Senior Nico Juber also feels that file-sharing plays an important part in musicians just starting out.

"For new bands, it's hard without Napster and Kazaa to get known," she said. Like Kolasinski, Juber is a musician seeking to broaden her audience. "I always encourage people to put my songs online," she said. "Maybe because I'm not signed and making a lot of money, [the Internet is] a really good way to get my music out." Three of Juber's songs are posted on her website.

Several years ago, Kolasinski posted three of his songs as MP3s on Napster, successfully gaining what he describes as "pretty decent exposure." "Especially for completely unknown artists, Kazaa or Napster are incredible," he said.

"Was it gratifying to know that people from potentially all over the world were listening to a song I created in my basement? Absolutely," Kolasinski said. "And only free file-sharing can let you do stuff like that."

Kate McDonnell, a graduate student and TA who is releasing an album this year, agrees about the promotional potential of file-sharing. "If an artist is clever enough, they can use [file-sharing] to get known without record companies," she said.

But she is not overly concerned that file sharing will hurt her success. "When you perform gigs, the real fans will buy your CDs," she said. "The real fans will want the pressed CD; the cool cover sleeve. Fans aren't going to come up to you and ask you to sign a disk they burned off the internet. They want to support the artist."

"I always felt like Napster made me buy more CDs," she continued. "At first, people used [Napster] more as Internet radio -- you'd find a song you like, maybe a few songs to see if the album would be worth buying." As Internet connections got faster, however, Juber noticed a shift in the intentions of downloaders: "People started downloading more and more, often even complete albums," she said.

The result of such file-sharing behavior? A slump in overall record sales and panic throughout the recording industry.

"As with any business," Kolasinski said, "its all comes down to the money. So when people stop paying for CDs, the thousands of people who make money off of CD sales get [angry]. And they have a right to."

However, according to McDonnell, who is also the teaching assistant for the sociology course Introduction to Mass Media, record companies have, at least partly, brought the present situation upon themselves.

By consistently operating with profit in mind, she says many major record labels have sacrificed artistic integrity and variation in favor of generically appealing but largely unsatisfying albums. In such an environment, any artists outside the mainstream face great odds against their success, and the public's musical curiosity remains unfulfilled.

Additionally, major record labels often take immense_and sometimes illegal_cuts of artists' profits. "If you're with a major label, you'll get ripped off at some stage," McDonnell said.

McDonnell cited the Dixie Chicks as a recent example. The group, upon reviewing their finances, realized that they had been getting "scammed by Warner [Bros. Records] for years." The Dixie Chicks took Warner to court and won several million dollars.

Artists taking on record labels do not always meet with such success, however. "You have to have an excellent lawyer, and even then, you can't really win because of all the legal fees you've incurred," McDonnell said. "It's kind of a vicious cycle."

So why the need for major record companies at all anymore? Does what Associate Professor of Sociology Henry Rubin terms "the file-sharing era" bring with it the end of the reign of monolithic record companies?

Probably not. Although file-sharing can bring independent artists a great deal of recognition and exposure, "you have to be signed by a major label to get bigtime airplay on the radio, MTV," McDonnell said.

Going the "mainstream" route, then, still requires the backing of a major label. But file-sharing has increased the number of artists achieving success on a smaller scale -- and on their own terms.

"If you decide to go without mainstream backing, you become labeled an 'underground' artist, which becomes very appealing to some and creates a cult fan base," McDonnell said. "That in itself can be a very welcome thing."

Rubin concurs: "In the new file-sharing era, people listen more to the songs they really like," he said. "There are many more artists and more of what we used to call underground or niche musicians who are able to use bandwidth to get their stuff out there. This increases the heterogeneous nature of the art."

File-sharing has made the public more aware of its musical options, and consumers, as Rubin said, are sick of forking over money for albums "where you get a single and ten duds."

From a consumer standpoint, then, the record companies' situation is good news: "Now, the record industry is pressured to put out substantial albums," Juber said.

Monday, in this series' final installment, we weigh the advantages and disadvantages of various legal alternatives and discuss file-sharing's effects on American community and culture.