Bob,
Respectfully, you're missing the point - the fans don't know who write the songs, and don't care. They assume the artist wrote them. This type of video perpetuates that myth (a very popular myth by the way) that all artists write their own songs. I'm not suggesting that it was her intention to do that, quite the opposite. But it absolutely does so.

The problem is that while yes, on the ARTIST side of things, what she is saying makes sense, she is effectively throwing her songwriting income (money that she is entitled to) out the window.

I'm possibly overly sensitive to it, but in my defense, I've had to sit in meetings with the people who control how I get paid (member of Congress) and they almost universally struggle with the concept of "artist" and "songwriter" being two different things. These are the people making the laws I'm bound by - they see videos like this as well. How do you think that impacts my ability to get them to help songwriters? I was in a meeting with a prominent U.S. Senator who, when we explained this difference, laughed....LAUGHED....and said (and I quote) "Well maybe you boys should think about getting a real job." I write with a lot of artists who place so little value on their own songs, and by extension my contributions to them, that they almost get offended when I expect to get paid for my work.

I'm steadfast in my opinion. ANY artist who writes & performs their own material, and then gives it away in the manner she's describing, is naive and misguided - if for no other reason than this: if your work is available for free, or your compensation for it is entirely dependent on what amount to donations from your audience, then what real value does your work have? What price competes with free? And how does her decision to conduct business that way effect other bands/artists who play the same venues, and in some cases, for the same crowds? If you're selling a t-shirt for $25, and a ball cap for $15, and other merch for who knows how much, but you ENCOURAGE people to download your music for free (even illegally), what you are saying is that music is just a gimmick that helps you sell keychains and bumper stickers.

Part of the problem is their careers aren't really about their music, it's about "marketing their brand". That mentality has led to the demise of a lot of what makes (or made) music great to start with. It's a negative to the entire music ecosystem as I see it.

http://www.rogerbrownsongs.com
http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/roger-brown