I guess I stumbled into the "Mighty Wind" consortium here. The notion that everything was categorically better back in your salad days is as elitist as it is puerile. The times they are a-changing and the way music is accessed and appreciated is changing also. I am perpetually indebted to websites like 'Time Has Told Me' for initiating me into an appreciation for artists I would never have heard about otherwise. I think the demographic of people who compulsively download every file only to never listen to them is very small indeed. Downloads at THTM and other sites are almost exclusively low quality - if you like what you hear (as I do), you are inclined to seek out a better quality copy. You are inclined to research the artists in question. You are inclined to--dare I say it--see them live in concert. You are inclined to incorporate them into your life. THTM is a niche site catering to obscure music enthusiasts, not hobbyist amateurs out to find a free copy of the latest pop record. You don't find sites like THTM by accident - you usually have at least a vague idea of your query.

All of the above considerations pale in comparison to what ought to go without saying: that rare, obscure, unreleased, and antiquated recordings belong as much to the listener as to the artist. If I own a vinyl copy of an record that is stuck in remastering limbo with no hope for re-release, it ought to be perfectly within my rights to offer it to anyone who wants to hear it. If I have a taped live recording of my favorite band, it ought to be perfectly within my rights to make it available to those who wish to hear it. As alluded to above, a record made to escape contract is a record nonetheless, and it becomes the property of those who bought it.

It's asinine to cast all music sharers in the dark light of thievery. Everyone knows that the prevailing motive behind all of this is benign - to propagate good music, to raise awareness. It would be one thing of THTM charged a fee and profited from downloads, but this is not the case. Now it is unfortunate that there are artists not being paid for their work and yes, it is counterproductive to offer contemporary releases for download. But is it really that big of a surprise that folk music doesn't exactly generate multi-millionaires? The artist's financial woes should be directed not at loyal fans but elsewhere. A few people downloading old Nic Jones albums is a drop in the ocean, because let's face it, there aren't that many people doing it.

What confounds me is that there exist certain artists who decry the music sharing community--their own fan base--only to wonder why they haven't moved product. Such artists see their audiences as walking pocketbooks and nothing more. Get a clue and get hip to the reality that the more people you turn on to your music, the wider your sphere will be. You think contemporary music is bad today? Envision a scenario in which there were no shared/traded unofficial recordings in circulation. Envision a world in which, if you weren't lucky enough (or alive enough) to snatch up an original vinyl copy of a record, you just...don't have it. This would be catastrophic. The obscurist underground folk music culture is what is fueling the good music being made today. Snuff that out and it all goes away.

So, artists: release your old shit! Your fans want to hear it. Cf the Grateful Dead template for music sales, taping, etc. If you're out to become the next one-minute-millionaire, perhaps folk music isn't for you.