From time to time somebody I know will ask if I can burn them a copy of something – I own something like 1000 CDs, and I push my tastes on others, which makes me a would-be opinion leader, I guess, and sometimes that can backfire. My gut reaction is always one of embarrassment – on the one hand, of course I want to get the music out there, but on the other, I’m essentially being asked to help a friend steal something.

In most cases we’re talking about bands on indie labels like Bruce Brodeen’s Not Lame, which means that you’re hurting a record company that’s probably lucky to pay its bills and an artist who probably has to work at least one day job to support a music career that’s economically about a half-step from being a hobby.

Ironically, the reason so many of these bands and labels are on the brink of oblivion is that their “fans” are making it impossible for them to earn a living. What’s the difference between not buying a record because you hate a band and burning yourself a free copy because you love a band?

Nothing. You aren’t helping the band and you aren’t promoting the music. And if enough people out there do the same thing you’re doing, it adds up to be just about as bad as the effect the major labels, Clear Channel and the boy-band whoremongers are having on the industry.

In this context, “burn” is an appropriate term, because a generation of people who ought to know better are helping burn good music to the ground. One day, when the only music available is pre-fabricated corp schlock (copy-protected, by the way), and the guy who ought to be the next Kurt Cobain or John Lennon has given up completely and is pissing his life away behind the counter at Tower Records, well, just remember that you heard it here first.

Spend the $10, dammit (or $12, or whatever). If you care about music, get right with the reality of music: somebody has to pay the bills, and if the people who like it won’t, then who the hell will?