On a recent tour of Italy, My band was treated to a VIP tour of the Ferrari factory in Maranello. We saw the famous design center, the engine assembly, bodies being painted, ladies hand-stitching upholstery, and the test track. There are many dedicated people doing small and large jobs, and it all comes together to make something extremely special.

Making a record has a similar trajectory. Songwriters toil hours to design coherent melodies with lyrics, and then it’s up to the musicians, audio engineers and producers, mastering labs, artwork people, and duplication houses to help mold the artist’s musical vision into a thing of beauty and integrity that can be sold to an audience.

All of this costs money, of course, and piracy rips off the entire chain of people involved in the process of making music. So when you buy music, you are actually casting a vote for an artist to make his or her next record. You are providing artists and their “factories” the income to finance future musical projects. It’s really a simple choice to continue the great tradition of American guitar music—don’t steal it!