[Harp-L] Re: downloadacces.com

[Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I just found a Swiss website <www.rapidshare.com> which was offering  
not only free downloads of several of my recent CDs including the new  
BluesCulture CD released scarcely 6 weeks ago, but also free  
downloads of all three of my Blues Harmonica Playalongs book & CD  
packages. To upload a book requires considerably more criminal energy  
than to upload a CD and I was less than happy to see my work being  
offered for free in this fashion. The only positive side of this is  
that after I sent the above mentioned website a mail complaining  
about these illegal downloads, they immediately removed my files from  
their server and blocked them for any future uploads. But you can bet  
your life that if you look hard enough you'll find plenty of other  
sites offering similar services. Please be aware that downloading  
artists' work for free deprives them of any revenue while allowing  
unscrupulous website operators to earn through selling  
advertisements, which are in the end financed by the artists (who  
don't get paid). If you place any value on the work of any artist,  
please don't steal it  -  support artists by buying their work,  
rather than supporting opportunistic websites which try to give it  
away for free and earn their money through advertising revenue. This  
really sucks!

Steve Baker
www.stevebaker.de
www.bluesculture.com