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“WHO EXPECTS A 12-year-old girl to buy a
$20 record with her baby-sitting money for one good song?” says
singer-songwriter Michelle Branch, 20, whose 2001 single “Everywhere”
is still one of the top swaps. As a teen, she lifted some of her
favorite singles off the Internet. “Why not download the one song you
like?”
 From our International Edition: Non-Americans Aren't a Target, Yet
Few top-grossing musicians want to
criticize file sharing since Lars Ulrich of Metallica was verbally
attacked by fans and peers for condemning piracy at a Senate hearing in
2000. In fact, many labels didn’t want their artists speaking to
NEWSWEEK for this story. It’s likely that rappers Eminem and 50 Cent
now agree with Ulrich because, as top sellers, they stand to lose
millions. But opinions differ radically depending on an artist’s
success. Punk upstarts like the Ataris—who have nothing to lose—have
embraced file swapping. The spiky-haired outfit used Napster and
MP3.com to promote its first three independent albums and build up a
fan base before signing with Columbia last year. Now its cover of Don
Henley’s “Boys of Summer” is a hot download, and the band’s members
couldn’t be happier. “If our single is downloaded, then maybe they’ll
buy the whole album,” says Ataris singer Kris Roe. “And if they
download the whole record, then maybe they’ll come see us play. We just
want to be heard.”
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Out of Tune
