Illegal downloading is an issue that has plagued the music industry for the past decade-plus and 10 Years are reaching out to their fans in hopes of thwarting the problem as they unleash their new single.

The band has teamed with the 10 Years Association for an "Illegal Download" contest surrounding their release of their 'Miscellanea' single. They're asking for fans to send links to 10yearsassociation@gmail.com to any illegal download of the track on the Internet and the band will pick a winner to receive a 10 Years prize pack from the band for their diligence. The campaign can be found here.

Guitarist Tater Johnson initially wrote a Facebook post stating, "Thanks to everyone for the early support and love on the new single but if y'all really wanna help call your local radio station and request 'Miscellanea.' Don't illegally download it from a bit torrent or post those links. It'll be on iTunes real soon and we'll be making a video in a couple weeks. This is how we make a living and when you purchase this the music the money does actually go to us. Thanks again for the love. See y'all on tour."

But Johnson didn't stop there. He later posted a more in-depth post sparking conversation on illegal downloading that can be read below:

Hey all. Tater here. Thanks for your support. This is obviously an open forum, and people are free to say their opinions, and while a lot of the responses to our battle against illegally downloading our single are disheartening, it raises an interesting topic. We all became musicians because of our love for art and music, which is why we stay in this field, but it is also our livelihood and the way we pay our bills. I've been in this band since 1998, a founding member and I've played every single show. At various times I struggled to keep my house, the lights on, and my junker car on the road, coming home from months on the road owing thousands of dollars, and forced to record albums that cost so much money to make, we could barely pay back the major labels, all because of our art. But the fact is that this is my job and I get paid from touring and merch, but also because of you awesome die-hard fans who actually buy our music, rather than steal it. Most singles air on radio for a bit before they are released to iTunes, Google play, Amazon, or cd, hence the hype and delay. We know there is no possible way to stop the pirating of music, but we are doing what little we can to try and preserve something antiquated. If you think we or I am just about the money, than just do me a favor and unlike/unfollow our band because you've missed the whole point and aren't the ones who help keep us going anyway. The days of getting rich off one single are over and that's fine. I want you to listen to it and love it because it's our art, but I also want to get paid for the past year of blood, sweat, tears, writing, writer's block, re-writing, recording, etc that we've been through as a band. Ok, that's it. For all you lovers, see you at our shows. We love you and appreciate you more than you'll ever know. And for all you who feel entitled to everything for free, we probably wouldn't see you anyway because you wouldn't want to buy a ticket.

10 Years are building up to the release of a new album and they'll be working in some of their new material on the 'From Birth to Burial Tour,' which launches Feb. 10 in Sauget, Ill. just outside of St. Louis. Dates can be found by clicking the button below.