Musicians Who Ask For It

Just as Lessig practices what he preaches by providing free downloads of his books, I appreciate when I go to concerts and musicians - who are realistic about how people acquire music today - promote downloads of their music, and only ask that you purchase a t-shirt or CD if you (a) have the money and (b) if you'd like to.  Before I started college and internships and 2nd jobs and had zero time during the school year, I used to go to concerts ALL the time.  Even then, I found musicians who promoted free downloads to not only be realistic and well, nice, but I saw them as smart.  I for one would not know about so many bands, had I not downloaded their music first.  And for the ones I liked, I'd go out and spend my own money on their CD(s).  People really just want to sample music beyond the standard iTunes 30 seconds.  More artists are acknowledging this -- I just wish that large record companies would too.