Does Winning American Idol Even Matter Anymore?

I'm blogging this post in response to the question, Does Winning 'American Idol' Even Matter Anymore? Posted Wed Nov 24, 2010 5:04pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks ( Lyndsey's original post located here ->  http://yhoo.it/eXXNFT <- ) I read what she posted, about the sales being down for most of American Idol's musical artists, especially with American Idol's NINTH champ, Lee DeWyze, selling approximately 40,000 copies of his album Live It Up having had a disappointing first week and premiering at only number 19 on the Billboard charts (this makes him the American Idol winner with the worst first-week debut album sales yet). My thoughts on that? I would imagine in this day and age with the availability of the internet being so wide spread, and people having the resources, to obtain music ( even if illegally so by pirating ) it has to be hard for many musicians, and everyone involved in the music industry, to make as much money as they are entitled to, given the entertainment they provide. Music lovers and fans alike should realize this and refrain from obtaining their music illegally, and instead choose to purchase it from the entertainers they profess to love and admire. So to answer the question ... Does Winning 'American Idol' Even Matter Anymore? ... Only as much as the artists matter to the fans.