In a candid interview with the BBC, EDM superstar David Guetta says that piracy has helped bring greater exposure to his music and credits his ability to sell out stadiums and venues around the world to it.
"I just want people to have access to my music. If there was no piracy, why can I sell out 20,000 people every in Brazil?" Guetta told the BBC.
"Is it because of how many records we sold in the shops? Of course not."
The 47 year old Guetta, whose hits include Titanium and Dangerous, would of course want every one of his listeners to be a paying customer, but concedes that with the current state of technology and the internet, that isn't a realistic or practical option.
"I wish that every person who's listening to my music would send me a little check. That would make me a very rich person, that would be wonderful. But at the same time this is impossible," Guetta admits.
"You can't fight progress, so you better embrace it," he adds.
Guetta, who has sold a staggering nine million albums and 30 million singles over the course of his career, has tried some out of the box techniques to combat illegal downloading. He's been known to give away songs for free from time to time for example.
Is what Guetta says true? Or does his view not present a fair representation of the industry as a whole? Not all DJs have the clout and fame Guetta has. Giving away music may not be a viable way to earn a living for some. But that raises the question: is getting heard, even if it's through piracy, better than not being listened to at all?
