If you are a fan of Coldplay, you probably have a playlist with their music on your iPod or PC. Did you buy all that music from iTunes or CDBaby or Amazon MP3? How many songs came from CDs where you own the original? Maybe some came from your roommate's iPod or you ripped a friend's CD onto your hard drive. Better yet, maybe you have a Spotify account and stream Coldplay via their service. Hopefully you are not using one of the illegal file sharing sites. Even Spotify is ripping off artists not represented by a major distribution company.
Coldplay is making a ton of money and you might say, with some justification, that your $.99 is nothing to them and this new song will complete your collection. That may be true, but what if the band is not Coldplay, but an up & coming band from Savannah who are playing venues like Variety and Eddie's Attic. They do not have it easy and depend on getting every penny of royalties from their CD sales. Touring is expensive and live music is a gamble for these bands. Sometimes they travel hundreds of miles and get no guarantee from the club - only a percentage of the house take. I have been to Eddie's Attic when there were well under 100 people in the room. That is not a lot of money to divide. On these nights the band's CD sales are miniscule.
I know it's old school, but pay for the music you listen to. The artists deserve the monetary reward for their hard work. Here are examples of how downloads can rob a band of its fair share. These are all Coldplay videos, but the revenue to the band is very different in each case.
This video was uploaded by the band or their manager. They have agreed to let you hear the music free of charge to promote their music. They share the ad revenue with YouTube.
This video was uploaded by an individual not associated with the band or its management. He claims to have added artistic value by creating a video of the lyrics, but that's a legal sham. This robs Coldplay of their rights. Avoid these videos.
This video from a live performance is also illegal. Coldplay has a clause in their standard contract that the venue must publicize and announce from the stage that no video or audio recording is authorized. Avoid these, too.
This live video was made by the venue (or with the permission of Coldplay) and is legal. Coldplay will share in any advertising revenue viewing this video will earn for YouTube.
Let's keep these bands playing. Even if you are not a Coldplay fan, this not really about them, anyway. Even if it's not your intention, don't steal their music.