Pitchfork: Wilco File-Traders Set Up Donation Site

Wilco File-Traders Set Up Donation Site
Band may need to secretly funnel dividends for ex-members' severance packages

[Updated: April 6th, 1:17PM CST]

When we last left Wilco (on, uh, Thursday), their highly anticipated fifth album, A Ghost Is Born, had fallen into the malicious hands of mischievous file-trading geeks across the nation, and their songs were spreading like wildfire across P2Ps, FireWires and T1s, months before the album's official release. Mid-last week, we reported that the album's release date had been pushed back to April 22nd, and that, as such, there was some concern as to the legitimacy of the files. But while the tracklist did experience some minor adjustments between the end of production and the file-sharing frenzy, evidently, the correct version was the most widely circulated, due to the precise song length specifications announced on Wilco's official website.

The man responsible for spreading this pirated wildflower is avid Wilco fan/computer savvy entrepreneur Ronen Givony, webmaster of the Boston-based Wilco lyrics site bemydemon.org. After downloading Wilco's Ghost, the twenty-something Givony reportedly emailed Tweedy his transcribed lyrics for verification, along with an apology for obtaining the new album before its release date, and a promise to purchase the disc when it finally hits stores. Additionally, Givony and Jeff Dashley, webmaster of the Wilco fan site viachicago.com, have set up a website called justafan.org, which is specifically designed for those Wilco fans who have illegally downloaded the upcoming album to donate their money in compensation. Through word-of-mouth, the website brought in over $1,500 in its first day. All proceeds will go to the band's selected charity, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Founded in 1971, Doctors Without Borders provides treatment to those injured in armed conflicts, people afflicted by epidemics of disease and hunger, and those struck by natural disasters, man-made or otherwise. Basically, they help people-- a lot of people; from AIDS victims to the starving in Sudan. An active member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) paraphrases their mission: "We are by nature an organization that is unable to tolerate indifference. We hope that by arousing awareness and a desire to understand, we will also stir up indignation and stimulate action." A link to the charity's official website, as well as Wilco's donation page, can be found at the bottom of this article.

The outpouring of generosity by those greedy file-sharing no goods places an interesting light on the subject of music piracy. Is it indeed possible that those little monsters who steal music before it's officially released are actually willing to support the bands they love, regardless of their theft? Is it possible that they just want to hear the music as soon as they possibly can? The initial catalyst of the donation page, Ronen Givony, speaks on the matter: "If you have a community or a fan base that is vocal and has real enthusiasm for the bands and music they love, a project like this can really work."

Wilco manager, Tony Margherita, supplies his two cents: "The band and I think this idea is great because it just underscores something we believe very strongly: that real music fans are prepared, even anxious, to prove their loyalty and support their favorite artists. They want to participate. These people are not the enemy... They're the backbone of what we all do. Plus, we get to support a charity that we think is very important, and I'm certain that a vast majority of the people who are downloading the record are going to want the real thing when it comes out in June."

And then there's Tweedy's quote on the justafan.org website: "The impulse to make music is as strong as it ever was... making CDs is not our reason to exist. We're a band because we like to play together, and feel good about playing in front of people, and we've always made our living doing that. That isn't going to change." Lars, are you taking notes?

[Retraction: This report originally stated that Wilco had set up the justafan.org website themselves, which was, obviously, inaccurate. Apologies to anyone who may have been misled, or harmed in the making of this news story.]