Well, I think we can all agree to disagree on this issue.

Unfortunately there is only one way to ensure your music is never stolen, or distributed without your consent. Never release it in any form whatsoever.

I am a musician and I too have music out there on CD. The record labels have had way too much power over the years and it's time the artist took the controls again. The Internet may just be the way to do it. Unfortunately with the surge of hit and miss sites (MP3.com, AMP3.com, Riffage.com... mostly misses) we are in the early development stages of this new breed of record distribution. It seems to me that most of the best music to my ears is the stuff that never sees the major labels anyways, the stuff that is pure and bred entirely from the artists with no weight put into "current market trends" and "fashion". (Can anyone say "Boy Band" and "Bubblegum Pop"?)

Thing that makes me laugh is that CD/Tape/LP piracy has been going on for years and years, how many times have you made a mixed tape from some of your favorite albums?

Don't try to tell me it's different, it's no different than making a mixed tape for a friend.

So while you are complaining that Napster is stealing money right out of your pocket and ruining the artist... lets remember a couple things.

The next time you are sitting down to watch a taped Austin City Limits, or cruising down to your cabin with a "best of" home made tape... we all do it. Ethics are fickle at best. Let he who is without sin...

And... the real monsters are not you and I making these tapes/CD's/Mp3's... it's always been and always will be the record labels and their endless pack of cronies. We are just fuel for their money machines.

At this point I would like to crawl down from my soapbox and just wish a merry Christmas to all who believe in the annual "Kill a turkey for Jesus" day.

Have a safe holiday,

Will