GAMA BOMB Front Man Confesses to Downloading

No stranger to speaking his mind on issues he believes in (like his band's campaign to “stamp out inferior metal”), GAMMA BOMB frontman Philly Byrne spoke out today in favor of downloading on MTV Headbangers Blog. Byrne's comments mark the first time that an artist has written Headbangers Blog to support downloading in the face of a vocal majority of artists who do not condone it.

The outspoken GAMA BOMB frontman goes onto explaining why downloading is such a vital part of the experience of “the music fan of the 21st century” and why artists shouldn't be completely against it, either:

“Reading MUDVAYNE’s Chad Gray’s blog on illegal downloading on this site, I couldn’t help feeling like I’d heard his spiel about musicians getting shafted before. Chad’s analogy of a man (read: band) making a fine wooden chair (read: record), only to have the chair stolen (read: downloaded) out from under him, was a striking one, but it’s an oversimplification.

If a musician’s job was as simple as “make disc, sell disc, win,” record companies wouldn’t have latched onto the “360 degree record contract” (that’s the one where they get a cut of t-shirt sales, licensing and live fees, kids) more than 10 years ago. Nor would they have released CDs, which allowed people to get their hands on their masters in movable file form back in the mid-’80s. That was an admission that music business models now mean more than just money from wax.

Chad made a good point when he mentioned Radiohead’s “honesty box” experiment. When one of the world’s most popular bands’ fans will only pay Ł3 ($5) on average for their album, what’s the use in fighting people who want your niche, indie label, corner-genre product for free? As long as they hit the shows and buy the coasters, who cares? Let them have it!”

To read the entire entry on downloading written by GAMA BOMB's Philly Byrne, go to http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2008/12/04/guest-blog-gamma-bomb-frontman-philly-byrne-says-im-a-filthy-swindling-downloader/#more-4464