Heavy metal is not a genre that's been very PR-friendly in terms of the battle against illegally downloaded music. Metallica (yeah, we know the technical term is 'thrash') is the most notorious of all performers for its lawsuit against Napster. Iron Maiden however has found a way to turn a profit off of all that stolen music.
The band uses an internet analytics service called Musicmetric to figure out where its music is being pirated the most, and then it adjusts its tours accordingly to head to those countries. "But wait," you say. "Isn't that somewhat like rewarding those nations for stealing music. Shouldn't they avoid those countries to give them what for?"
Maiden had a better thought process: Obviously, the nations that torrent or download the most of its music also have a higher fan base for the group. As most anyone will tell you, major acts make most of their income off of touring. Fans will go to shows even if they've never actually bought a group's music, because the whole iPhone video experience hasn't yet caught up to the quality of seeing a group live. Therefore Maiden, an arena-worthy group, can squeeze upwards of $50 a ticket out of those who might not have paid them before.
The best example has been the band's popularity in South America. Brazil represents a large portion of illegal downloads for the group, as well as a high quantity of Twitter followers. The group has been touring South America more recently as a result. The band's last show in São Paulo brought in $2.58 million for one show. It might not mean the group has made up what it potentially lost thanks to downloading, but it shows the system is a double-edged sword: If they use the internet to take a cut from you, use the internet to make a cut back.
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