Ed Rodriguez, a guitarist in Deerhoof, opened up about his thoughts on where illegal downloading can lead music, and why consumers hold the power of sustaining the creative community with their purchases and their support. Read the piece in its entirety on The Talkhouse.

"The more we buy music, the more shows we go to, the more museums we visit, the more books we buy, the more we strengthen our system, our creative community. I want my corner record store to survive. I want to go with my friends to hear some music and then hand my money directly to the band so I can bring their music home and help them get some gas in their tour van. I want to spread my money up and down our road and not have it swept into the air and sucked into the private corporate jets flying overhead."