If I can think of more reasons why bands shouldn’t make people pay to listen to your music… here are several more reasons…

• It helps give you a lot more recognition and even more respect – A lot more people will respect you and support you if you give your music away for free. As long as people see that you’re not into this for the money at all, they’ll be willing to give you a listen and check you out.
• It’s nice to get honest feedback and critique of your music – This is one reason I do it. To get feedback from people. I can’t tell if my songs are good or not and I’m open for honest criticism. You’re not gonna get much of that if you have people pay first. It’s just a better way to get heard.
• You’re not gonna get rich & wealthy anyway – Lets be honest here. Do a lot of people really buy your music? I’m willing to bet no. I’m sure one or two people would buy your CD’s at the shows or buy your music online, but I’m pretty sure you don’t make a fortune off of it. That’s why it’s best to give it out for free since no one will buy your music anyway. I’m sure it’s possible that bands can make pretty good money off of their music but they are very likely pretty well-known and established bands who have been doing this for years.
• It’s a good idea to give back to the fans & your supporters – Fans reward you by going to your shows and supporting your music. Staying loyal to you. You should reward them in return by giving back to them. It helps keep your fanbase and make them happy. This is another reason why I do this.
• It’s a slap in the face of the music industry  –  If you’re not happy with the way the music industry run things — be it, either major or indie label — and you are disgusted by how they control things. Disgusted with their CD pricing and all that stuff… you can fight back against them by giving out your music for free. It might help change the way they look at the business side of things.
• You are competing against illegal downloads and possible early leaks – If you want to stop this stuff from happening giving away your music is just your way of fighting against piracy. If you don’t want people illegally downloading your album or leaking it early, it’s a good way to stop ’em.

I’m sure there’s a lot more but those are a few I can think of at the top of my head.

I remember in the old days when bands used to give out music all the time but unsigned music has changed over the years. These days, everybody is obsessed in getting paid for what they do. In my opinion, that’s not being passionate for music. Music should be something that you love doing and what you live for. It shouldn’t really be looked at as a “job” or a “career”. I always looked at music as a way of life. Money is all musicians think about.

Don’t get me wrong. I like making money but I’m not gonna make it by making music. There are still some musicians today that aren’t in it for the money and popularity but not as much as before. Everybody wants to make cash and gets lots of fans these days. If I ever get myself a band someday, I’m gonna make sure the musicians aren’t in it for the money and they just want to play for the love of it. That’s what music should be about. Not worrying about fame, money or popularity. Musicians wanting to play ’cause they want to rock out. People don’t see local music in that way anymore. They all see it as a “professional career” which is pretty sad, in my opinion.

Kev