PDA

View Full Version : Downloading music, your ethical opinion



Sombeech
07-27-2005, 10:42 AM
What do you guys think about it? Should file sharing be legal? Is it ripping off the musicians?

Same ballpark---How do you guys feel about Film Piracy?

derstuka
07-27-2005, 10:56 AM
Technically, it doesn't effect me directly because I not in the music industry, but it is stealing if you want to get technical. Have I been guilty of it? You're damn tootin' I am! :assault: :drums:

Same with the music industry. I don't mind as much because the some stars make 20-30 million a movie, and ticket prices are so damn high. Hell, I love getting my money's worth and doing "double-feature's!"

live2ride
07-27-2005, 11:02 AM
Rock on man, I need to do it more, these people that make the music are still making million, I know that it is technically considered stealing but oh well I have paid thousands of dollars for CD's is my days so ripping a few tracks for my own good won't hurt.

theprof
07-27-2005, 11:03 AM
Tough question....... many attorneys argue this every day!

I haven't ever downloaded music illegally. I've downloaded legal stuff before, but 99.9% of my stuff comes from my own CD's, my friend's CD's, or copying things they've already ripped. I can't say how much of their stuff is downloaded (legally or illegally) but I know there is some.

I will say that I've bought CD's of bands that I'd originally heard with their origin coming from a friend's collection - that I never would have bought had I not given them a listen. I think it's perfectly OK to borrow CD's and rip them, as the artist did receive revenue from it, and it's no worse than when the only options for music were taping it off of records, cd's or the radio - which also were shared quite a bit. I can't tell you how many times I did that in my youth, buy an album and instantly make a cassette so I could listen in the car.

Technology has certainly made copying/sharing easier, and the quality of the copy is equal to the original (if desired). I suppose the same thoughts apply with movies/VCR's/Tivo etc. Doesn't mean I still don't go the theatre to see shows, or spend $ to see bands play live.

I do have to admit this is coming from a non-actor/non-musician so the feeling may be different if I were trying to make a living off it, for sure.

accadacca
07-27-2005, 11:04 AM
I used to do it....... :doorpeak: Until I found out about the spyware attached to many of these programs. :frustrated:

I think it is ok for the pay programs. I guess I am against the free ones. But I don't have any room to talk. It is really cheap too. I may sign up for one as soon as I get an Ipod.

derstuka
07-27-2005, 11:11 AM
I still buy new CD's here and there, and most of the albums that I rip are from friends old collections. Once I start seeing Britney Spears and P. Diddy living on the street in rags I'll change my ways... :blahblah:

live2ride
07-27-2005, 11:32 AM
Derutska,

Man I second that. Those people make too damn much money to worry about that bull crap. I know it is a huge issue, but they can survive

Sombeech
07-27-2005, 11:46 AM
Some people say it's stealing.

I call it "reducing their huge profit margin".

I call $10 for a movie ticket "robbery".

Technology makes it easier for us to share files, just like "taping" a video or CD. It's just happenning on a bigger scale now, but at the same time, there's more musicians and filmmakers now too.

If it's stealing now, it should have been called stealing when tape recorders first came out.

And, technology is also helping the film and music industries to produce their products at a much lower price. But are the movie tickets going down?

You know those ads against film piracy, how the lighting guy gives you this sad look 'cause his wage is being "reduced"? These guys get paid before the movie is even released. Don't believe those sad stories.

crazy horse
07-27-2005, 12:04 PM
I'm all for it. I download music almost daily, a lot of it is legal, but some not. Like a lot of other people have said, the artists aren't exactly struggling to make money, so i don't feel bad.

Sombeech
07-27-2005, 12:56 PM
the artists aren't exactly struggling to make money, so i don't feel bad.

And you know what? There's a lot of professions that used to pay a lot more money, but they've become less profitable over the years.

If the music and film industries start profitting less, there's other jobs out there. There's always a career out there that can provide a decent living.

I hope we don't feel sorry for the "artists" who go into the studio once a year, and never have to pick up a shovel.

But, I hope my opinion doesn't sway this topic. I still want to hear your opinions, whatever they may be. Don't be afraid to support the artists in this topic. We won't allow any trolls here.

derstuka
07-27-2005, 01:08 PM
You free-loaders are all evil people :twisted: and your time will come! How dare you steal money/profits from some fatcat in Hollywood. I personally don't know how y'all can do it and go on living guilt-free!

Shame on you! :frustrated: :frustrated:

Black Mage
07-27-2005, 02:44 PM
Personally, I don't download movies. I still have dial up and movies are far too large to download. Plus the quality is never anywhere near as good as a dvd.

As for music, I don't download much P2P. Most of my stuff comes from sites like Overclocked Remix (http://www.ocremix.org), VGMix (http://www.vgmix.com), CTG Music (http://www.ctgmusic.com), and G.S.P. Magazine (http://www.gspmagazine.com). All 100% legal, but more importantly, 100% free as well.

As for the idea of stealing from the artists...I am sick of artists who put out a cd with maybe eight or ten songs on it and then have the nerve to charge you $15+. Eventhough the cd only has one or two good songs on it. I refuse to pay for the music I don't want. In this way the artists and RIAA are stealing from us. I'm not a fan of iTunes either. I've downloaded songs off there before, but they are always in MP4 format, which neither WinAmp nor my MP3 player can play. So I'm really left with no other choice. Even then, there isn't a lot of "standard music" that I want enough to spend my time downloading/want to buy, therefore I don't download P2P often.

Superriffic S*
07-27-2005, 03:02 PM
I am a HUGE itunes freak! I bring my ipod with me everywhere I go and listen to all kinds of music all the time like for instance today; I started out listening to Depeche Mode 101 then went on to BECK's new album then listened to more Depeche Mode (exciter album) then listened to JEM's only album and am now listening to John Mayer.

I think that the majority of people who download free music (like me for instance) will eventually go out and buy the cd if I like it enough. It gives you a "taste" of the artist without having to spend money on a cd that you only end up liking one song off of (like the Britney Spears album with "I'm A Slave For You" loved that song, but there is only one other song on the album that is worth anything and now I have this useless Britney Spears album at my house that people make fun of me for).

Which is why I like the itunes store. You can listen to the songs on the album BEFORE you buy it. And if you only like the one song... thats all you have to buy, the one song!

My two cents... :blahblah:

S*

icthys
07-27-2005, 03:52 PM
I've downloaded a few songs. I do however burn music from this huge MP3 server we have at work. Everyone here gets a new album and just sticks it on the server for everyone to enjoy.

A few have commented that they burn from a friend or whatever. It's still technically illegal if you burn but didn't burn it from a disc you bought. So all you felons gettin' your tunes from your buddies I'll see you in prison :mrgreen:

live2ride
07-27-2005, 03:56 PM
Hey that is a good idea, where do you work so I can turn you in!!! Or else burn me some music....j/k that is a good idea as long as everyone pitches in a cd here and there and just doesn't free load off those who are buying the cd's

Sombeech
12-29-2005, 10:15 PM
Thought I'd dig this one up again.

Since I've got a DVD burner, I've been burning every DVD I rent. What do you guys n gals think about that? :ne_nau:

Piracy? Or is it just the same as back in the day of the double VCR trick?

PunchKing
12-30-2005, 07:29 AM
Since I've got a DVD burner, I've been burning every DVD I rent. What do you guys n gals think about that? :ne_nau:

Piracy? Or is it just the same as back in the day of the double VCR trick?

It is true that it is the same as the double VCR trick but for some movies it is the only way to get a copy.

Recently I decided I wanted a copy of the Hit Movie "Rad" the BMX movie from the 80's. Well I found it on one of the music & movies "Stealing" services.

Now who has the coolest DVD ever. :twisted: Ha!

Sombeech
12-30-2005, 08:38 AM
Rad! Oh, man, that was a cool show back in the day.

Training for the bike backflip...

DickHead
12-30-2005, 09:50 AM
I have a bunch of stuff I downloaded back in the Napster days, but these days I don't download without paying for it.
I've been having trouble buying from Wal-Mart lately, thier software doesn't want to install properly on either of my PC's. Any suggestions on where else I can pick up music paying per song, rather then some bullsheot membership fee? I usually only go for a few songs at a time.

PunchKing
12-30-2005, 10:51 AM
I have a bunch of stuff I downloaded back in the Napster days, but these days I don't download without paying for it.
I've been having trouble buying from Wal-Mart lately, thier software doesn't want to install properly on either of my PC's. Any suggestions on where else I can pick up music paying per song, rather then some bullsheot membership fee? I usually only go for a few songs at a time.

First, WalMart Controls America. :flag:

Second, I know of a few but they are 99 cents instead of the 89 cents from Walmart. MSN has a service and you can buy them from apple's I-Tunes.

Superriffic S*
12-30-2005, 11:20 AM
I discovered a site that will allow you to download music and pay by the mega-bite. You can choose the quality you want it to import as well, a.k.a. mp3, mp4, aac, cd quality etc. I downloaded 600+ songs for about $70. However, I am not going to name the site on here because I don't want this little jewel taken away from me because sooo many people go to the site. If you want the "411" PM me.

S*

DickHead
12-30-2005, 11:27 AM
First, WalMart Controls America. :flag:

Second, I know of a few but they are 99 cents instead of the 89 cents from Walmart. MSN has a service and you can buy them from apple's I-Tunes.

Yea, I despise Walmart but they make it hard to shop elsewhere. I'm willing to eat the ten cents per song and buy some music elsewhere. I'm going to try Yahoo I'll let ya'll know how that goes.

dbessee
12-30-2005, 01:23 PM
I don't download tunes but I've downloaded books and I rip cd's for my mp3 player.

It's strange. A couple of the Baen authors I read post some of their older books online for *free*. After doing this they found that, contrary to what was touted by RIAA, their new book sales *increased* :haha:

They don't post the new releases but many of their books are there, and it's the only place to get some of the ones that are out of print. I downloaded and read some authors I hadn't read before and ended up buying some of their books too. Made sense, I got to try them out for free and found I liked their work, so I went and bought some of the newer stuff without wondering if I was endangering my gear budget for something I wouldn't like :mrgreen:

Everyone won!

DirkHammergate
12-30-2005, 03:01 PM
My 2 cents,

DVD Burner + NetFlix monthly unlimited = Good times....

Iceaxe
12-30-2005, 04:53 PM
DVD Burner + NetFlix monthly unlimited = Good times....

Beer :cheers:

Guns :2gun:

and a 4 wheel drive eclipsee_steering also make for a pretty interesting weekend :haha:

LJ
12-30-2005, 05:49 PM
I like to think I'm waayyy too much of a goodie two shoes for free downloading. But then I am very picky on the songs that go on my mp3 (hey it's the soundtrack of my life) so I only put a song or two on per week so that only comes to $10 per month so maybe if I had more of a financial incentive it might be different. Let's not talk about "free" camping/showers/entrance in national/state park campgrounds............

LJ

PS - I'm just posting stupid replies to things until I get rid of that "rookie" after my name - then I will be more relevant!

canyonphile
12-30-2005, 06:51 PM
As for the idea of stealing from the artists...I am sick of artists who put out a cd with maybe eight or ten songs on it and then have the nerve to charge you $15+. Eventhough the cd only has one or two good songs on it. I refuse to pay for the music I don't want.
Agreed! I have no problem buying CD's if the entire thing is decent...but how often does that happen? Another thing - if the artists weren't charging so damn much (like $15-18) for a CD, they'd have less people pirating their music! I'd be more inclined to buy if they were about $5-8 ea. And like Black Mage says, paying that much for a CD with one decent song on it....eh, no thanks. I don't mind paying a $1 for a song I do like to download off of Yahoo songs or something, but I also don't begrudge people who decide to download all their music for free. I listen to it free on the radio, so what's the problem?

Yeah, technically it's stealing, I suppose. But, I just don't find myself seeing it as an issue that I care about - the artist's certainly aren't hurting for money, and if their goal is to have as many people listen to their music as possible, they shouldn't complain, IMO :bootyshake: .

SJ

DirkHammergate
12-30-2005, 07:28 PM
Beer :cheers:

Guns :2gun:

and a 4 wheel drive eclipsee_steering also make for a pretty interesting weekend :haha:

Yes, done that too.... hellagood time.

Sombeech
12-30-2005, 07:41 PM
People will compare piracy to stealing somebody's book, or something physical. This is a very poor comparison. Reason? When you copy a CD, the original product still exists.

And also, why does the mass population believe that actors and songwriters deserve to be rich? True, there are many who aren't, but they aren't the main targets of the piracy.

Should these Pop stars really be millionaires? I think even if piracy grew, the stars would still be able to provide for their families. That's the point they forget about.

greyhair biker
12-30-2005, 08:47 PM
The way I look at it is the technology is there to use - why can't the music industry capitalize on it as well and adjust the socalled profitmargin to accomodate . Their overhead,once the equipment is paid for , is plastic and electricity for crap sakes! Oh, and the 'artist' , whos' overhead is himself/herself. I just looked all over the US and Europe to find music from and artist I heard one song from - the only place I found it was in Russia and in MP3 format...you bet your sweet bippy I downloaded all the music I could find of the artist ...primarily because that is the way he had it set up. He makes his money off concerts and sponsorships...Bumac Vitas is his name....'talented russian singer' on PlanetVid.com site :2thumbs: and yes, he is filthy stinkin' rich because 1: he is good and 2: he knows how to capitalize on his talent :cool2:

stefan
07-21-2006, 09:53 AM
I think it's perfectly OK to borrow CD's and rip them, as the artist did receive revenue from it, and it's no worse than when the only options for music were taping it off of records, cd's or the radio - which also were shared quite a bit. I can't tell you how many times I did that in my youth, buy an album and instantly make a cassette so I could listen in the car.


i am not chiding you for this, but this is illegal. AND it's quite different from taping as it's making essentially a replica, barring any slight mistakes.

all that is legal is for YOU to make a back-up copy of a cd YOU purchased for YOUR OWN PERSONAL USE.

regardless, i don't have a problem with doing it, just wanted to make this clear.


also, as i understand it, the musicians don't necessarily make much money off of their first album in general. part of the major problem is that the music industry wastes a ton of money on projects that go nowhere in search of those amazing folks who are gonna make the big time. supposedly this is where a lot of the money goes ... down the drain. another reason to support independent labels :2thumbs:

stefan
07-21-2006, 10:00 AM
I hope we don't feel sorry for the "artists" who go into the studio once a year, and never have to pick up a shovel.


my understanding is that many of the artists that you all are bagging on aren't necessarily making that much money from their albums. the record companies get a lot of this money. as i understand it many artists NEED to tour, sometimes quite often, to really make the kind of money they take home.

i am not an expert on this, but as i understand it it's not that easy to make money off of albums ... and like sports there is an elite group who do in fact make a substatially larger amount of money from albums. but you can't group all artists into that category, just like you can't group all sports players.

Sombeech
07-21-2006, 10:37 AM
Well, 'ello love! Fancy seeing you again. I'm starting to love it when these classic posts revisit us. :nod:

My whole problem with the entertainment business is this: The entertainers (sports, music, movies, comedians, models) think that this field SHOULD bring them a lot of money. We have spoon fed the elite musicians, like Lars Ulrich of Metallica, so they think it is the right thing to do to be rich.

This encourages beginners to aim for this industry, in the hopes of becoming a millionaire. I think this era may start to fade soon. Box Office sales have been dropping for a year, and I honestly hope it continues. This will not discourage creativity from the entertainers, they will always exist because it's the thing they love to do. They just don't need to be millionaires.

Let's push to make filesharing LEGAL. :cool2:

stefan
07-21-2006, 10:42 AM
Well, 'ello love! Fancy seeing you again. I'm starting to love it when these classic posts revisit us. :nod:

My whole problem with the entertainment business is this: The entertainers (sports, music, movies, comedians, models) think that this field SHOULD bring them a lot of money. We have spoon fed the elite musicians, like Lars Ulrich of Metallica, so they think it is the right thing to do to be rich.

This encourages beginners to aim for this industry, in the hopes of becoming a millionaire. I think this era may start to fade soon. Box Office sales have been dropping for a year, and I honestly hope it continues. This will not discourage creativity from the entertainers, they will always exist because it's the thing they love to do. They just don't need to be millionaires.

Let's push to make filesharing LEGAL. :cool2:

agreed!!

rock_ski_cowboy
07-21-2006, 11:05 AM
I always admire artists that legally release some of their music free to the public through the internet, especially ones that would have made millions otherwise. As a new artist, I think it would make much more sense to get your stuff out on some file sharing networks or myspace than trying to get bent over in a shoddy, bend-over-you-won't-feel-a-thing record contract that any new artist with potential would be forced into. When an artist that already has some clout releases a free album, now thats cool. Unfortunately, the only example i can think of was Smashing Pumpkins with their last album... they gave it to half a dozen of their biggest fans and said, "get this out on the internet". I'm sure there are other examples. So what if that means you have to make your milliones from concerts. People should work for their money.

On the other hand, I have no problem whatsoever with great artists becoming millionaires. Its too bad so much has to go to fat record executives (not to be confused with "Fat Wreck Chords" executives) though. :haha:


Favorite applicable song quote:

"I'm really not complaining
I realize it's just a job
and I hate hearing belly-aching
rock stars whine and sob.
Cause I could be bussing tables;
I could well be pumping gas.
But I get paid much finer
for playing piano and kissing ass" -Ben Folds (from "One Down")

stefan
07-21-2006, 11:10 AM
well i have been downloading free music from the "internet archive" for a few years now. the archive is based in san francisco and doesn't only include music. but everything is downloaded from servers and the archive has permission from every artist to make this music completely legal for downloading. it's growing by the day ... the bulk is live recordings too. you can also stream as well.


check it out sometime if you don't already know about it.

www.archive.org

Sombeech
07-21-2006, 11:59 AM
I use Limewire. Most of the time I'm downloading songs that I originally purchased on Cassette tape, so I'm basically creating a digital backup. :cool2:

KillEmAll
07-21-2006, 12:16 PM
My 2 cents,

DVD Burner + NetFlix monthly unlimited = Good times....

True 'dat.