File Sharing not hurting artists San Angelo Standard Times - July 1, 2005 by John Boyd My argument for file sharing fell to the bar table with the clattering sound of plastic. ''Hey, I want y'all to have these,'' a friendly looking musician said, pointing to a stack of freshly pressed CDs scattered before me and my friends. The Corby White Band, a band young and yet to take off, had just finished playing its final set at its CD release party and was now handing out its CDs free to those of us who had stayed to hear them out. Never mind that the purpose of a CD release party isn't to actually ''release'' CDs, as if ''back into the barroom wild,'' but rather to sell them and hopefully make your money back. These guys, however, were giving them away. The band has decided that having their music heard is more beneficial in the long run than having their music bought. The record industry doesn't like the Corby White argument. It's sure that CD burning and file sharing is bankrupting the business. I won't bother repeating their numbers, by the way. If the problem is as big as the record labels say, then it also is too big for them to accurately keep track of. The ironic thing is those big-name artists the labels like to promenade out to speak against piracy don't actually lose that much when a CD is burned rather than bought. When musicians working for a major label sell a record, they will only see about $1 or $2 from the sale, depending on their status with the label. The rest goes to the store selling the CD, the label, production costs, agents, lawyers, repayment of monetary advances and other frivolities. Corby White, however, generally will get to keep all, or at least most of, the profit from the sale of ''Rent My Soul,'' his first disc. So why is it that the musicians with the least money and the most potential profit are usually more willing to dam their cash flow than the musicians with the most money and the least potential profit? Toby Keith can stand to part with 30 CDs, but can Corby White? The answer, and I'm sure Keith would agree, is yes - because here's the trade-off: I actually listened to the Corby White Band's CD. Beyond all the moaning and legislation, the fact is what's good for the fan is good for the music. I've listened to White's new CD; I'll probably go see him perform live again. I'll spend more money at that venue. That venue will see that White brings in money and might book him again. Had I listened to Keith's new CD (what the hell is he plugging these days?), I might go see him perform, and the cut he'll get off my ticket price is a lot more than that buck off the CD, and should I buy one of those $30 concert T-shirts, that's almost all his. The record industry will not be taken down by file sharing or CD burning. It just hasn't figured out how to cash in on it. Trust me, it will. Keep in mind, it's the record industry, not the music industry - notice the distinction - that complains about file sharing and CD burning. You don't hear Corby White complaining about me listening to his music for free.