In a message dated 3/24/99 2:49:43 PM EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< << Someone right now is selling t-shirts for $20 plus postage of a live
concert
shot of Todd. They are calling it the "unofficial Todd Snider T-shirt"...
they
also have tapes, bootleg CDs and videos for sale. Meanwhile, Todd ain't
getting any richer, these guys are. >>
look, sorry to have to be the one to break this to you, but this is life, and
it ain't going away. maybe its not fair, but it goes along with the territory
of being a performer for the public. >>
This is bullshit. The excuse "It's not going away" ain't cutting it with me.
As they say, two wrongs don't make it right. Aside from legality, at its core
this is an ethical issue, contingent upon what you, the individual, needs to
do to sleep well at night. And if "everybody's doing it" is your
justification, then that's fine, sweet dreams, although it's pretty lamee.
Personally, and unless the artist condones otherwise, I like to do everything
I can to keep money in the artists' pockets. They get screwed enough by the
whole official industry process without so-called fans also making a buck off
'em.
Funny how the artist, he or she who *is* everything that the music business
has to offer, is the one so abused.
Neal Weiss
