Put your money where your heart is

This is a call to action.

Okay, everyone copies, burns, pirates music. A friend has an album you like, so you borrow it from her, burn it, and give it back. You find your favorite band's latest CD at the library, so you check it out, burn it, and return it. Money is tight. I understand that.

But wouldn't it be cool if we each picked one or two artists that we will support wholeheartedly, never burning, copying, pirating, or even buying used? Someone who we only buy from when we have the money, but we make sure they get every penny for every song, because they're amazing and they deserve it. Wouldn't that make you feel good about yourself? Wouldn't it make you more invested in their music, and make listening to it even more enjoyable?

I know it is for me. First off, I really enjoy having the original CD, with album art and lyrics. There's just something wonderful about having it in my hands, and I like to take a new CD and sit in my room and listen to the whole thing in one sitting with the lyrics sheet in my lap, letting the music soak into me and getting the full effect of the lyrics. So I almost never pirate CD's anyway. But I never used to have a problem with it. Really like her music, but can't afford a CD? Just rip it from the library! No problem. But recently...

Okay, so I went to this concert last November that really rocked my world. I ended up going to it kind of by accident - I signed up to be on the street team for one of my favorite musicians, Chris Pureka, and I got an email back about five minutes later saying that they really, really needed someone to hang posters for the Erin McKeown/Jill Sobule show two days later. Well hey, I thought, I spend an hour of my time doing this and I'll get brownie points with the Chris Pureka team. The two free tickets were an added bonus, but I wasn't feeling very well that week and didn't decide to go until the day of. Anyway, I did end up going, and boy am I glad that I did. I absolutely fell in love with Erin McKeown's music, lyrics, and stage presence (especially the stage presence! Come back to Seattle soon, Erin!). I almost never buy CD's at the show, but I knew I had to have a copy of Hundreds of Lions right then. Got it signed, took it home, and really haven't stopped listening to it for more than a day or two since then.

A day or two after I got home from the concert, I went online and purchased a copy of "We Will Become Like Birds," another Erin McKeown album, from her website. A couple weeks after that, I bought two t-shirts. This was the first time in years, and I mean years, that I had bought any CD new (except for Chris Pureka's new EP which I got signed at her last concert), much less a band t-shirt. It got me to thinking, but I hadn't formed that thought yet until Christmas came and I received a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate.

Now, $20 is a lot of money for me these days, and the temptation on a huge site like Amazon is to buy as cheaply as possible to make it stretch. Knowing that I wanted a couple more Erin McKeown albums, I thought, well, they're pretty cheap if you buy them used, I bet I could get two or three that way, instead of one and a half. But I looked at them, and I stopped. How could I love this artist so much and not support her 100%? If I knew that my biggest fans were doing everything they could to not spend money on my work, I'd feel like shit. So I made myself a promise.

For my favorite artists, I vow to always buy their merchandise new and pay full price for it. I know I cannot afford to do this for every musician I come across, so I will put my money where my heart is.

Since I promised this to myself, I feel better about listening to music. I feel freer about extolling the virtues of my favorite artists. And I feel really good knowing that when I take my newly-bought CD's to the next concert, I can get them signed without feeling even the slightest twinge of guilt.

Can you make this promise to yourself? In an age when most music is available (if illegally) for free, can you choose the moral high ground and pay for yours? I don't think you'll regret it. If you read this, comment and tell me where your heart is.