Kid Rock, theorist of a digital future
In an interview with the BBC, Kid Rock speaks about digital downloads and payment systems, demonstrating throughout his intuitive grasp of the issues:
The performer - whose real name is Robert Ritchie - said his record company Atlantic had asked him to “stand up for illegal downloading” a few years ago because it told him “people are stealing from us and stealing from you”.
“And I go: ‘Wait a second, you’ve been stealing from the artists for years. Now you want me to stand up for you?’
“I was telling kids—download it illegally, I don’t care. I want you to hear my music so I can play live.”
Asked whether he was worried about illegal downloading, he replied: “I don’t agree with it. I think we should level the playing field. I don’t mind people stealing my music, that’s fine. But I think they should steal everything.
“You know how much money the oil companies have? If you need some gas, just go fill your tank off and drive off, they’re not going to miss it.”
But he said he did not implement that advice himself. “No, I don’t steal things. I’m rich.”
 (Link via Wired News’ Listening Post.)
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As usual Kid R makes smart arguments & he’s honest with it. (”Even solid gold pussy gets boring.” Anyone man enough to speak this truth publicly should demand our respect.) I wonder what the proportion is of 40-50-something people like myself & others I know in the 20-something range who are trying to make a level playing field by acting *as if there were one*. Our practice, regardless of age, is to pay for downloads by new artists, those we deem as needing the money, and to be more likely to share for free music by rich artists and/or those *to whom we have already donated a great deal of money*. This leveling of the financial field becomes especially apparent when, say, burning an album you already have in 3 or 4 formats.