An Artist’s Perspective on Downloading Music

I’m not a businessman so I don’t know how to solve the problems of the recording industry.  The good thing from an artist point of view is that music is being accessed.  I’m happy if my music is being downloaded, whether it’s legally or illegally. 

Obviously I want it to be legally downloaded and I myself have spent a fortune on iTunes because for me, that’s the easiest way to get music. I nowadays I hardly ever buy CDs anymore.  And I have download iTunes and I get a little annoyed sometimes when I feel like I’m paying the full price of a CD for something that didn’t cost as much to create.

So I think they need to find the right business model to work.  Because I am willing to pay and I think a lot of people are for a good product.  But it’s exciting to me to see YouTube, for instance.  I hate YouTube sometimes because people put up things of mine that were never meant for consumption and also because of some of the comments people write about my videos.

But I also love YouTube.  I can find anything I want. They’re streaming now of concerts.  I’m playing many concerts in Europe and things that my mother watches back in Bloomington, Indiana.  She says, “Oh, I saw you play a concert tonight.” People are also giving classes on YouTube.  So I think as an artist I’m more excited then scared about how it’s going to affect the business model or my bottom line. 

Joshua Bell is a Grammy Award-winning violinist.

In Their Own Words is recorded in Big Think’s studio.

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