If you had two weeks of exposure on a larger than life LED Times Square billboard—what would you do with it?
The New York indie band Ghost Beach was offered the space above American Eagle Outfitters and is using it to spark a debate on music piracy, driving a conversation online between artists and others in the industry. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag: #artistsagainstpiracy.
Today the band itself tweeted:
"As #artistsagainstpiracy we believe the only way to overcome the negative association w/piracy and the internet is to talk about the issue."
The band also said:
"We are #artistsagainstpiracy. We believe in using new music sharing platforms to combat illegal downloading. By offering the modern music consumer convenient choices when it comes to discovering and downloading new music. By giving music listeners the choice to buy, stream, or download free from the artist, everybody wins…and music is shared in a way that is convenient for listeners and respects the artist’s intellectual property."
So what are other copyright proponents saying?
Brooklyn music producer Alan Wilkis tweeted (@AlanWilkis): By no means a simple issue but at the end of the day, it’s damn-near impossible for a musician to make a living #artistsagainstpiracy
Attorney and musician Barry Strutt (@musiclawguy1): Billboard debate over Piracy? nyti.ms/14tw0kg Copyright is in the Constitution because patronage didn't work! #artistsagainstpiracy
Bill Hensley, a California-based marketer and musician tweeted: (@ThatBillHensley) #artistsagainstpiracy If you give YOUR OWN music away, that's OK; it's your music. It's all just the speed of money. youtu.be/95ixtfA9WD0
@Fredro, who describes himself as a producer and songwriter, tweeted: everyone who press yes to piracy on ArtistsVsArtists.com are happy/ignorant hobby musicians #dontquityourdayjob #artistsagainstpiracy
Morgan Mitch (@Morgmitch39) tweeted: #Artistsagainstpiracy will prevail. There is no room for piracy in the music industry. It is wrong, you know it. And starving artists starve because of things like piracy.