It also sounds like he derives a lot of revenue from a healthy live following. Musicians that aren't as performance-oriented are probably less sanguine about this.
I'd argue the opportunities for digital distribution far outweigh the risky and extremely limited opportunities of traditional physical media. The smaller artist has a major lack of publicity muscle. Piracy can provide just that; on a potential scale almost completely inaccessible to unknown artists.
I work for a small record label, I understand the problem very well.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/14/136279162/an-inter...
I'd argue the opportunities for digital distribution far outweigh the risky and extremely limited opportunities of traditional physical media. The smaller artist has a major lack of publicity muscle. Piracy can provide just that; on a potential scale almost completely inaccessible to unknown artists.
I work for a small record label, I understand the problem very well.