The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) says that the new single from the Tragically Hip has been a magnet for music pirates.
CRIA says that, over a five-week stretch from March 30 to May 7, there were more than half-a-million unauthorized attempts to download the Hip's "Vaccination Scar."
I haven't had a chance to follow up with CRIA to ask the obvious question: How do you know? How do you track something like that?
The song has been available at online music stores and CRIA says 1,000 copies of the title were purchased online.
“Any reasonable person will be staggered by the disparity in those numbers,� said Hip bassist Gord Sinclair, in the CRIA press release . “The grim economic reality aside, it shows how widespread the practice of downloading has become. Don't get me wrong. Anything that gets people into music is okay with me, but at some point people have to recognize their role in the creative process. To me it's an ethical question. If you hear something you like, go out and support the artist. Tell your friends, see a show and buy their records. Your support helps the artist continue to create and it funds the discovery and development of new artists and new music. If you do your part, we'll all benefit."
CRIA, in its press release on this issue, loaded up on outrage from some top Canadian acts. Here's Ed Robertson, singer/songwriter from The Barenaked Ladies: “I'm totally fine with people downloading music, as long as they steal everything that they want. If you want pants, go steal them. If you need gas in your car, you should steal it, because you can. As long as people are consistent I don't have a problem. As long as they see themselves as thieves in general then I don't mind if they steal everything that they like. But it irks me that it's only okay to steal music.�
