Do you think Bands/Singers should give their music away for free?

I think it's a great way to promote ones music. So yes, I do think it's a good idea. That being said, I don't know it's for everyone, I think a band should choose whether or not they want to do this or if it is practical even. I recorded a cd several years ago, I found original songs and we paid a flat per song fee for me to record, and that allows me to record the songs and sell them, give them away etc. I have given away a lot of cd's, my dad has actually sold some of them to his customers, who actually wanted to pay for the cd as opposed to taking it for free. He even sold one to some people in a parking lot, he was listening to my cd in the car once and this couple asked him who it was and he said it's my daughter, and he offered to give them a copy of my cd, well, they gave him money for it. That was just right after I recorded it and pressed my own cd's. Now, the reason I say it depends is, all of this costs a lot. Not including what I paid for the songs. Other costs were the duplicator I bought to copy my cd and a printer and blank cd's to print cd labels, cd cases and inserts, which I also assembled and printed myself. And all that was just for my promotional cd's. Then for the official release of my cd we had to get licences for the songs, pay for professional cd duplication, which actually was a good deal through discmakers, but still expensive. So that's looking a several thousand dollars, not totally sure. The bad thing about being a solo independent artist is, no promotions. I have my myspace, and my cd is available quite a bit of places online, including i-tunes, but if people don't know they can't buy it, which is why I have had only limited success. So there are a lot of considerations when making this decisions. So actually, I highly respect any band or artist who gives away their music for free, because music costs a lot to produce. As an artist myself I am obviously on the side of the musician, I definitely care more about them than the company that is representing them, and a lot of the time the company comes away with much more money than the artist to begin with. That being said, I wouldn't turn down a deal, simply because well, I am a singer--not a business person or marketing expert, so at the end of the day, the money difference is probably worth it. Sorry for writing so much about this, I just see it from the different angles and come to a conclusion that way. Me, I'm both a music lover and a music artist. The music lover in my hands down says yay, give all the music away free, but ss a music artist who has yet to make it, can see the value in charging 5-10 dollars for something you put yourself into, and something that people can enjoy.

This is a very wise and smart move as far as I am concerned. The music industry has always had too much control on artists and their creativity... Prince went through hell back in the 90's with with the label that tried to own him. Freedom to create and dispense one's own work, in one's own way should be a basic right, and not one that is "governed" by the power of a wrong-headed industry. I certainly love the fact that at sites like GCAST, you can see and hear a whole bunch of newer artists as the grow and make their way onto our Lives... Please enjoy: http://www.gcast.com BTW: If you have anything to say to the World or even Play to the World, it's all absolutely free! :)

I don't think this will give a negative effect on the music industry instead I think it will boost up the public more to get into music and to motivate them to buy the original and stop patronizing piracy. With the cost of original cd's today and how costly it can get you just to buy a cd with only 10 or more songs people will choose pirated cd. Though smashing pumpkins done this with a more complicated reason but I think this kind of give away copies are a good start to get the attention of the general public.

People singing about booties and jugs has become a very common thing now. And people listen to that 24 x 7. So for the real music makers, a strategy like this is good. Many artistes give away some of their singles as free download.So that they gain a larger consumer base for their albums when they are released. bourne