I recently asked Neil Hagerty what his feelings on file sharing were. Here is what he had to say.

-Me 'n the Big Dawg

"I am ok with it, it is like the olde argument about cassettes to me but hyperspaced. It is stealing, I guess, but music is meant to be heard. So I'm not a 'copyfighter' or whatever, if the RIAA wants to try and clamp down, good luck to them. Drag City try to do what they can to protect their files, requesting take downs etc. Sometimes it is easier to just get on iTunes etc and quickly pay 99 cents, sometimes it is not. Sometimes you can afford it, sometimes not. I'd rather that the person hear what they're looking for.

The greatest thing about this to me is the death of the fucking ALBUM. I'll be glad to see that finally replaced by playlists and mix tapes. A world of Greatest Hits!" -NH http://www.howlinghex.com/diary/1552/#1574

There you have it. Piracy is good for artists. Albums are bad for artists and listeners alike. Anyone telling you otherwise is either brainwashed or has a wad of $$ bundled up in some shit publishing company. Viva free universal access! -DC