Sharing music. Good or bad?

Of course it is illegal to share music if that person does not have the authority or permission from the record studio to share it to someone. It will hurt the artist for sure, especially if he/she is actually enjoying a big success when realeasing her album had her album not been subject of piracy. It will beneficial if that artist is indie artist who does not have a record label yet. That's why many artist distribute their song via myspace or youtube to promote themselves to the society