The Shoes of a Rock Star

9/26/02

A recent New York Times article discuessed the Recording Industry's new advertising campaign against file sharing.  The new advertisements will feature various artists pleading for the public to not illegally share files.  One of the featured artists in this campaign is our good friend/wife-beater Sean "Puffy" "P-diddy" "Shoot 'em up" Combs.  First of all I hardly think it proper that someone such as Combs be lecturing people on what is legal and illegal.  I am sure that just as Combs is pleading with us to stop sharing illegal music, Roger Mills, a cable TV host, pleaded with Combs and his entourage to not beat him up.  Did that stop them?

However, that is not even the most appaling thing about the advertisements.  apparently one of the adds has Combs saying, "Put yourself in our shoes," implying that we should feel sorry for these people.  I just have this to say about that.  I would love to put msyelf in their shoes!  I am sorry, but I have not one ounce of sorrow for these people.  Outside of their albums, which despite being shared online still make them a lot of money, they make millions of dollars in endorsements and from concerts.  And might I remind you that a concert cannot be pirated.  Maybe it is they who should try on our shoes for size.  Spending $15, $18, and sometimes up to $20 on a CD.

No, after all the sorrow around the world today I can hardly expend any on these guys (insert the worlds smalles record player plaing a sad, sad song here).  Feeling sorry for them is like feeling sorry for the baseball players who make $10 million a year and then still want to go on strike.  If they do not like doing what they are doing, or are in it only for the money then they can quit.  Nobody would really miss them, and There are plenty of other fine musicians who make music for fun and do not care if they make money off of it.  These people also have what one would call a real job.  They actually contribute something to society.  So to the recording industry and these few complaining artists I will tell you a bit of wisdom that was given to me at a young age by my father, "Life is not always fair, shut-up and deal with it."


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The Shoes of a Rock Star
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