Brainclaw’s thoughts on so-called ‘file-sharing’ & the illegal downloading of digital media

By David and Tara Giuffre

This is one of those hot-button issues for many people, but it seems so clear-cut to us. Let’s get something straight right from the outset:

The downloading of unauthorized electronic media of any kind is currently illegal.

This isn’t up for discussion. It’s a fact. As electronic musicians ourselves, we are constantly affected by the illegal downloading of our music. When we released our first CD, Insekt/Angel, in less than a week we saw it being sold in Russia, for a dollar a song, on some music distribution site that shall remain nameless. We wouldn’t want to give them any more publicity. We saw not ONE PENNY from their sales. This Russian site is only a drop in the bucket, compared to what’s going on out there today.

The bottom line is that we spend a ridiculous amount of money on the Brainclaw project. We love to make music, but we are VERY FAR from being wealthy. The sale of CDs and authorized digital downloads helps to put money back into the band fund, to pay for the things that keep the Brainclaw machine running. Here’s what we have to spend money on just to keep Brainclaw viable and to keep releasing new CDs, in case you haven’t considered these costs before:

* Gear breaks down. It needs to be fixed or replaced regularly.

* Blank CD/DVD media, printer supplies and paper, tape, labels and presskit envelopes.

* Postage for promotion and label/band communication. Bubble wrap for shipping.

* Phone calls and internet connection fees to handle all communication and promotion.

* Van/bus rental, hotels, fuel, food and tolls for shows, when we can even afford to tour.

* Decent computers to DO all of this stuff.

* CD/DVD replication costs. Graphic Design fees. Post Production and Mastering fees.

* Photography fees and advert placement costs for magazines and websites.

* Keyboard stands, gear stands, power conditioners, cables and cable ties.

* Effects lighting, fluorescent tubes, lasers and fog, and road cases for live shows.

* Paying our crew to help. (It’s a pittance. Believe us, our people work for love.)

* Tee shirts, buttons, posters, stickers and other promotional swag for shows and the site.

This is a small taste of the costs involved with maintaining a viable music project. This is what it costs to make Insekt/Angel or Dead Monsters. Guess what? We have been on the Matrix and Spiderman DVDs, we have scored indie movies, we have released two CDs and are signed to an excellent label. We still need to sell CDs to pay for all of this stuff. If everyone downloads the music illegally, how can we continue to make Brainclaw music? All bands are in the same boat. Does our music have worth? Many of our fans think so. We have yet to hear a convincing argument supporting the misleadingly-named practice of “file sharing.”

It just means that today’s kids AND adults are too stupid, lazy or lack the courage to go into a CD store and physically steal CDs. They have found an easier way to be criminals. We often think of books as an alternative example. If an up-and-coming new author (or an established one, for that matter) wrote a new book, and somebody leaked the book onto the internet, and everybody downloaded it instead of going to the bookstore and buying it, what reason would there be for the author to keep writing books?

The bare fact of the matter is that just because you CAN do something, it doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it. Digital thievery is a perfect example. Most bands today have short samples of their songs up on their websites. Just like we do! Go there and listen. If you don’t like the music, DON’T BUY IT! People always claim that if it weren’t for the godsend of so-called ‘file sharing’ they couldn’t AFFORD to own to all of the music and movies they want to consume.

WELL, TOO BAD!

We’d love a bigger house to raise our little baby in. We can’t AFFORD one. Should we go steal somebody else’s house? We’d love a new Macintosh Quad G5 to make Brainclaw music on. We can’t AFFORD one. Can we be sneaky enough to creep into the Apple Store and snag a free one? Probably not. We’d love to be able to tour more extensively. We can’t AFFORD to. We would love to be able to travel more. Nope. Can’t AFFORD it. See the weakness in this argument?

“Music is too expensive and there are so many lousy bands today!”

Ah, more whining. There’s this thing called inflation, see? Things COST more than they used to. The value is the same. We just bought Gary Numan’s new CD, Jagged, and it is brilliant. We happily paid $14.99 for the CD. We are just so excited to get a new Numan CD. We are supporting Gary, so he can keep making great music. As far as band quality, there are more lousy bands today because there are MORE BANDS TODAY. It is a percentage thing. We all bought some crappy records back in the day, didn’t we? Don’t like the whole CD? Fine. Buy the music on-line, a song at a time from iTunes or its equivalent. No problem.

We don’t care if you’re the smallest garage band or a major player on a big label, or somewhere in between. Music has WORTH. We used to pay for records. We still have them! We now pay for CDs. They have VALUE to us. If we like an artist’s music, we go buy the CD to support them. We attend their shows. The artist either sees the support almost directly, like in our situation, or indirectly, from the major label’s sales figures. If a major label artist stops selling, they get DROPPED. Same for us. If we don’t sell, we stop being able to make and market our music. Just as bad. You are stifling creative people by stealing their music. You are KILLING the future of music itself by stealing it. Please, just try and consider the things you’ve read here the next time you’re thinking of downloading music and not paying for it, or copying a CD for a friend. We know several poeple who regularly copy and trade music with friends and “don’t lose any sleep over it, because everyone is doing it.” It’s OK for them to have tens of thousands of free songs in their computers BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. Right. If you’re a REAL fan, you’ll support the band by purchasing their CDs or legally buying and downloading authorized files.

Brainclaw will continue to embrace the future as the consumer and market create it, with digital downloads available on all major on-line distribution centers, as well as continuing to release its music on CD. We will roll with the punches and evolve as the market continues to change, hoping only to change some attitudes here and there regarding artist support. We are currently educating ourselves on the behavior of the RIAA and Major Label politics, as well as the pluses and potential abuses of Digital Rights Management. These are all complicated topics worthy of further study. Be a smart consumer!

If you don’t care, that’s fine. Keep stealing music. Nobody’s been able to stop it, nor will they, in all likelihood. However, in the future, if you run out of good new music to listen to, don’t come whining to us, asking when the next Brainclaw album is coming out.

We might not be making them anymore.

We can’t AFFORD to.