Torrentfreak has news of some frank talk from the man whose mom calls him Curtis James Jackson III, but who is better known as the rapper 50 Cent (not to be confused with Canadian rapper Buck 65). In an interview with a Norwegian news outlet of some kind — you can read more about it here, if you understand Norwegian — Fiddy talked about the impact of downloading and what artists should do about it. The money quote is here:

“The advances in technology impact everyone, and we all must adapt. Most of all hip-hop, a style of music dependent upon a youthful audience… what is important for the music industry to understand is that this really doesn’t hurt the artists.”

and later:

“A young fan may be just as devout and dedicated no matter if he bought it or stole it.”

For more thoughts on the evolution of music and the struggle to change the industry, check out Music 2.0, where Maths has posted a longish — but definitely worthwhile — analysis.