After reading rumors that Apple is getting pressure from the music labels to increase per-song rates on the iTMS to $1.25 and albums to $16.99 (Let me just take a minute to wave both of my middle fingers directly at the music industry), I found a link to this site, which made me start thinking about the ethics behind file-sharing and buying legit copies of music. Until now, my M.O. has been to share stuff or buy used CD’s, because everybody knows artists make only pennies on each record sold, and make their money touring. Ergo, screw the music labels.

I read the related story about this guy in the Washington City Paper and started thinking, however, about the artists on the old blues and coutry labels he collects. There are a ton of stories about poorly-educated musicians getting screwed out of their royalties by the labels back in those days (…hell, it still happens to this day), and the reality was that most of their income, at least from music, was from playing live. Is this sounding familiar?

This guy is selling CD’s of the music he’s collected for $15/ea, which is remarkably affordable, as well as admirable from an afficionado’s standpoint—you can buy a digital recording of an obscure bluegrass song of which there is only one physical pressing left. And that’s pretty cool. What I thought was this: Is that stuff in public domain, or is it illegal for him to sell these recordings? Is there any surviving relative (son or daughter) who should, by rights, get the proceeds from these sales? Should he offer them that money?

As a neophyte collector of old blues and jazz, I intend to browse the catalog and purchase some stuff in the future. But I’ll be thinking about those musicians—and what was due to them—when I’m enjoying the music.

(Update: Prices on the iTMS are staying the same.)