Crow Speaks Out Against Illegal Downloading

Sexy rocker Sheryl Crow is speaking out on behalf of her fellow artists about downloading in light of the US Supreme Court GROKSTER case.

The SOAK UP THE SUN singer, who is the vice president of the RECORDING ARTISTS' COALITION, says in a statement that illegal downloading via such services as internet website Grokster is unfair to the "ordinary people who work hard to support themselves", according to MTV.COM.

It's not the stars who will be hurt by Grokster, Crow says, but the singers, arrangers, engineers, producers, songwriters and other folk who work in the music business.

She notes, "If nobody pays for (a download), how do they get paid? How about the people who create the CD and DVD artwork and photography? What about the people who work in the plants that manufacture the CDs and DVDs?"

She calls it a "question of balancing the rights of creators with current technology" and suggests incorporating filters to prevent illegal downloading of copyrighted material.