Im a partner in a small music label and Im curious, whats everyone opinion on music piracy, Is it a good or bad thing?

I think there is so much of it happening that the music industry does not have a chance in stopping all the downloads. It is good for distribution / publicity of songs and groups but bad for profits. The music industry need to find a way to profit in other ways to make up for the lost revenue.

In India it is the piracy which makes the song hit. Because original CD Cost Rs 95/- and Pirated MP3 with 12 Albums cost Rs 20/- which can be bought very easily.

I would never have listened to some of the greatest artists hadnt it been for oink whatcd.

If I like the music, I buy the CD and so do so many others.

Its definitely true that singers gets even more popular when piracy strikes on their albums. If the singer creates recording albums to seek popularity and sees his albums being spammed free online, he might not mind much. But if his motive includes making lots of money off it then it would surely hurt his revenue stream.

However placing yourself in the shoes of a composer/singer, if you see your songs getting spammed everywhere for free, wouldn't you feel hurt and sad that no true "fans" are really supporting you by buying your album?

So imo, piracy can be both a good thing as well as a bad thing. Good because it can help new bands get popular fast and easier, bad because ... we know why.

Actually unless the artist owns the label they only makes a small percent of cd sales and with downloads like itunes its only 3-5%. They make there money from concerts and overpriced merchandise so if his album is being spammed everywhere more people are going to go to their concert.

Also Trent Reznor supports the same torrent sites his albums are being "spammed" on and he's both rich and popular.

So the only ones losing some profit is the RIAA. The artist and independent labels all benefit.

Piracy is a worst nightmare for musicians but Good for people who can't afford buying one. But the one who uses pirated contents though he's capable of purchasing it is totally wrong.