A newly released report entitled “Artists, Musicians and the Internet” from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that musicians like music sharing and not just amongst themselves. Musicians like their work to be heard and have an expectation that they will be paid in concert attendance etc. In a non-random survey of over 2700 musicians and songwriters conducted online, the findings showed that while most were opposed to illegal music sharing, few felt that they had lost money from sharing but instead overwhelmingly the musicians saw the Internet as vital to their potential and actual income. 2/3s of the musicians surveyed said that filesharing was only a minor thread at best.
Of course, our friend Roger McGuinn has been saying this for over ten years now having used his monthly uploads of his own music to his now over 100 song Folk Den project and having testified to the Senate in 2000 about the importance of MP3s to artisits and selfpromotion.
Wired has the best article on the Pew Report as you might expect from the folks who put out the Creative Commons Benefit CD.
One note on the survey: It was done in December 2003. I wonder what changes in musicians attitudes have taken place in the past year.