Shakira says file sharing is just fine
Latinas sometimes have a way of explaining to you in short, telling words just how things stand.
So it is something of a bracing breeze in the desert to hear Shakira, the rather wily Colombian singer, declare herself to be in favor of file sharing.
If you've ever seen Shakira perform, as she did very recently on "Dancing with the Stars," you'll know that she is the kind of woman who would be rather upset if she didn't make your body move and your mind slip a little from its normal axis.
So please try to keep still when I tell you that for this pulsating performer, who has sold 50 million albums worldwide, file sharing represents "a democratization of music."
According to the Daily Mail, Shakira is rather fond of the somewhat piratical idea that downloads might be illegally shared amongst her fans.
"I like what's going on because I feel closer to the fans and the people who appreciate the music," she told the Mail. "And music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift."
Unlike singers such as Lily Allen who appears, in a philosophically similar vein to John Kerry, to have been for file sharing before she was against it, Shakira has an instinctive feel for the fact that the practice cannot be stopped.
The relentlessly positive conclusion she takes from this is that the more people hear her insistent, consistent tones, the more people are going to like them and the more people will pay substantial sums to go to her concerts. At these concerts, they will sweat to the verge of passing out, after which they will need a clean Shakira T-shirt in which to go home in.
Naturally, it is easy for Shakira to support file sharing when she is so colossally, deservedly and humongously wealthy.
However, sometimes people get wealthy by appreciating precisely the mood of the people.
And Shakira, which happens to mean "thankful" in Arabic, is a woman who seems to know just how people's minds, bodies, and pockets truly work.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
Music companies need to take a leaf out of the book of companies that make kids' TV. Make your product give your product away and and make your money on the merchandise.
The big labels need to forget about fancy videos and month long post production sessions in studios that cost millions. Make the videos simpler, cheaper, have artists who can sing without the need of fancy gizmos to spice up their voices, and get them out on stage wherever possible.
If they are marketed well a singer can build a large loyal fan base by giving away their music online, or by changing cost price, and can make their real money selling merchandise during tours.
If you put on a free show in a mall you can attacked a full house who will all want to eat and drink and buy the gig T-shirt. Do this once a week and you'll be a millionaire.
You don't even have to be famous already. Many stars have been born from YouTube alone. Chocolate Rain anyone? ;P
Isn't that an album by Prince from the 80s?
I think the song is called Purple Rain.
Although Chocolate Rain does sound a lot more delicious :-)
I'd suggest you go to YouTube and plug in "Chocolate Rain" into the search bar. One (or more) of your hits will be of the "Chocolate Rain" video. It's one of those videos which you likely won't understand how it became as popular as it did. Think the guy actually manage to get on one or two of the latenight talk shows because of it.
I may be only 14 but her songs mean alot tome because my mum has past on from cancer and my mum use to sing me to sleep with her songs while playing with my hair and now i dont have my mum with me it hurts to hear and read all the bad and nasty comments about shkira and i when i was writting this i was listening to her songs. so get a **** life you cox sucker NO-ONE IMEAN NO-ONE DISRESPEAKS MY IDOAL
keep on singing shkira you rock and your songs mean alot to me so i dont know what i would do if you stoped singing your agreat singer so dont stop because you you have alot of respect of a lot of other people love you you rock
Just sayin'.
most artists get pennies on the dollar for their cds, mp3s, etc, anyway
http://bit.ly/12VGZN
http://bit.ly/xycC4
Lolwut
when artists blame the file sharers they are blaming FANS, and when they do that, they break the bond that exists between said fans and the artists (Lars Ulrich learned that the hard way).
What is the most intriguing is how NOBODY blames the record companies, the artist sign over the rights to their music, they should expect the record company to protect it by all means necessary, what good are they if they can't even do that?
The most hypocritical thing of all for example is a company like Sony, that signs and distributes music, supports the RIAA, but also makes computers, cd burners and blank cd's which is all people need to copy and distribute music illegally in the first place, don't blame the fans, because that's all they are, blame the fatcats who are just waiting on the sidelines, while the artists and the fans tear each other to pieces.
*Most likely in video form. *grin*
I'd like to point out that she still managed to become "humongously wealthy" despite her own music being pirated as soon as she hit the scene. So lets not pretend that she only supports file sharing because she hasn't been a 'victim' of it, when obviously she has. It just didn't send her to the poor house like so many other artists believe, incorrectly, will happen.
- by jess838 December 7, 2009 7:07 PM PST
- shkira is alsome
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(23 Comments)SHKIRA you rock my mum use to sing me to sleep with your songs when i was little and now im 14 so you can see im a big fan and so are all my friends and your songs are very important to me because my mum has pasted away and now ilive with my nan