Illegal Downloading

I download most of my music. That way I can listen to new releases and judge what I like and what I don't like. If the album is really good, I'll probably buy it to support the artist. If the artist already makes millions, I'll most likely not buy it.

There is a lot of music that I download that is not available on cd because it's unreleased tracks, hard to find techno singles or music made by artists only known by a limited public (short of underground music). I don't feel guilty at all about it because I also support the artists I like by going to their shows when they are in town. Shitty albums or albums that have only 1 or 2 good songs on it don't deserve to be bought.

When it comes to movie, I rent them although sometimes I download and burn them. If I consider the movie a gem, I'll probably order it from amazon. I have my top 30 movies on DVD. I don't really care because I can afford movies and cds.

I respect people who only download for whatever reason they got to do so. We are in a time where the digital takes over conventional media supports.
 
Right or wrong I download my music and always will until the sites I get them off shut down, at the end of the day it may be morally right and pay for the music but if you can get it for free I don't feel a dying urge to go spend money on instead. I do with some films but if I like them I end up buying them on blu-ray or DVD anyway.

I don't download games though because it requires some sort of modification to the console anyway which ends up meaning there's some sort of limitation like no online play and you risk breaking the system anyway and having to buy a new one so it's not worth the risk imo.

But yeah... music. I can get it free, so I will.
 
Here's the way I look at it: Drugs are illegal, people still do it anyway. It's the same way for downloading music. It's free. I mean c'mon, who wouldn't pass up a free offer? I sure wouldn't. No matter what, i'm sure people are gonna find a way to get a hold of free music and, thats the way it is. You can't stop them all. I know they're crackin' down on that though :hmmm: I heard some chick got caught and, owed like $11 mil? For the already famous artist bands/ I really don't feel bad for them at all. Most of them gain money through tours and contracts. No? Maybe to the upcoming artist that are trying to make it but ehh... there's too many of those anyway.

It's not all that a big deal to me. Everyone does it. People are broke, they aren't going to "buy" music why? When you can easily obtain free music. Hell, i'd rather get free music rather then spend my money.
 
I prefer to actually buy my music. These people put their talents and hearts into their trade (most of them anyways). The only time I download free tunes are for songs that you can't simply go to the store and buy, game music and fan-made remixes. I do agree it's not a thing that will ever go away, and it's far too difficult to be tracked or regulated. Not all of these artists are millionaires, especially those who are just starting out or don't have a very large fan base.
 
I download music and always will. I listen to alot of music that doesn't come on the radio or likely to be advertised anywhere so I kinda have a 'try before you buy' apporoach. Plus I like so much music and many different bands across many different genres that I just can't afford to pay the extortionate prices of new releases all the time. However being someone who appreciates having a physical copy for the artwork etc I try and buy the albums I really like. If record companies want to raise sells they should lower the prices and stop being greedy fucks. I go to alot of gigs and buy merc too so support bands that way. To be honest without the awesomeness that is file sharing I would not have discovered 90% of the bands I listen to.

I refuse to buy music downloads off sites unless they are FLAC or ALAC file formats. If you buy MP3's you are being seriously ripped off.
 
I download illegally. Artists earn millions more than they actually need when people go out and buy their work, and they can go on about how it hurts them, but are you doing it for the appreciation and for people to listen to your work, or for people to pay you millions more than necessary because you sang twelve songs into a microphone? :dry:

I'll be downloading for as long as it's available to me, and when people really crack down on downloads online, there'll be such an uproar and such a boycott that they'll be forced to lift it again, because people are stingy bastards who don't wanna pay for overpriced CDs. Tis the way of the world, my dear boy/my dear girl and you had better get used to it, says I. :monocle:
 
Its annoying how some people are using the 'oh but they have enough money anyway so why shouldn't I?' excuse. It's not like every band/musician has multi-millions just because they have some songs on a disc that gets played once in a while. As much as I support downloading, not acknowledging the fact the artists don't lose out to some degree is just plain ignorant.
 
Oh I know they'll lose out, but they can get it back through tours. And there'll always be those people a little more moral than us and willing to spend their money on one of these CDs. I know they lose out. I'm just indifferent to it.
 
I used to download music to be honest. Then I read about all the arrests being made and all that. That was more than enough to scare away the 12 year old me from doing it again. I also had fear of getting viruses in the computer. Nowadays I don't do it. I have not even thought about doing it anymore. As for the artists, they'll make their money from somewhere. I don't think somebody like Justin Bieber would be too hurt from a few illegal downloads.
 
I used to. A lot. The only reason I quit was because I don't get on my computer much these days. While it is true that musicians lose money for it, I always felt music, or any form of artistic expression really, should revolve more around appreciation. I think if I ever became a famous musician, I'd just be happy to know that people listen to what I play and enjoy it. That may be a naive way to look at it. But I feel the "I wanna be a rockstar" mentality has ruined just about every musician that's developed it.
 
Mercurial said:
I think if I ever became a famous musician, I'd just be happy to know that people listen to what I play and enjoy it.
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But then how would you make a living? :lew:

I'm kinda both for and against downloading music. I do it on occasion, but as a "try before you buy" sort of thing, and even then that's only when it comes to foreign music. And much of the time, people upload entire albums as playlists on youtube anyway so I can save downloading it myself and skip to buying said albums if I like them. While musicians do need to be able to make a living when it comes to making music, I do think a great many take it to an unnecessary extreme with their insanely lavish houses, etc.
 
I'm mainly against the illegal downloading of music, for the primary fact that these tracks and albums are peoples LIVELYHOOD. Okay, so most mainstream musicians are fairly wealthy and set up, but that doesn't necessarily mean we deserve the right to take their creation posessions and produce for free. Of course, I'm guilty of listening to albums I don't have from youtube, but I don't use p2p sites or programs.

Also, I just find the likes of itunes so much easier to use. I only use itunes as a music player, so the album/track I've downloaded is already there. The virus aspect of illegal downloading doesn't exactly scare me, but I still won't risk it.


Though, there is a drop in illegal downloading as a whole- due to the likes of Netflix and Spotify. People seem to be using streaming services instead.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57571318-93/illegal-music-downloads-dropped-in-2012-says-report/
 
The Welsh Paddy said:
But then how would you make a living? :lew:
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Very, VERY modestly... :ryan:

I'd also like to add that I would download music frequently because of the difficulty of find some albums. However, I've found that iTunes isn't all that bad about having lesser known bands. The fact that I was able to buy American Pearl's one and only album surprised the piss out of me.
 
10th Doctor said:
I used to download music all the time with no problem. Then, I started listening to a band that knocked my socks off. I loved them, and I still do. And when I watched an interview with them, the lead singer had said that if his fans were true, they'd buy his music instead of stealing it.

So I complied.

But then I read a chart about how much the artist really gets when you buy their product. That most of the music goes to the record.

What do you think is right?
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As Grokster president once said, technology will always win.

I think the right thing to do is to get updated, ya know?

Once something is replaced, it's useless, and CDs are pretty useless for the purpose of distributing music today. Recording studios are very useless too, so obselete as the CDs. I mean, it's not possible the get money properly from that industry anymore. It's already doomed, even if they make it cheap.

Nowadays musicians can record and distribute anything they want by themselves. There's no way they'll get their money anymore, unless they change the way they distribute their music. At least they should enter this kind of market expecting less than they should.
 
I was under the impression most musicians made the majority of their profits off live concerts these days :hmmm:

I neither support nor stand against illegal downloading. I know it hinders profit margins, but if i were a musician, I would rather people download mine for free rather than fork up some dough so I can make a brief buck. It pans out to be around 1 dollar per song on each album, which is lost to recording, the writing process, and even materials when you think about it. If I were in a band that ever made it big, I'd literally hand out my albums at my shows. I've always felt an entertainer has no need to grub for money, they are already doing something they love entirely, if it were me I'd feel the satisfaction and achievement sin my life were payment enough. besides, what would those poor millionaire musicians do without their oh so necessary private jets?
 
I think the fact that more and more artists are encouraging illegal downloading of their own materials shows how little they benefit from the sale of their cds and also shows how clueless the record labels are in the first place. I'm not against it. If i'm interested in an album I might stream it on Spotify or download it. If I like it, hey, I might buy it or I might go to one of their live shows. If I don't like it; no harm done. It's not like theres an opportunity to trade in CDs like there is with used games. Ultimately the difference is; downloading and supporting an artist is fine; downloading and freeloading isn't. If you can't see yourself going to one of their shows but you like the album then buy the damn thing, or even better; get a tshirt! That money goes more to the band anyway, unlike CD sales.
 
Pirating, at least around here became a means to an end. That, and because there's a piss-poor collection of goods here, and veryyyy little choice at ludicrous prices on offer..
 
In the general sense, I don't bother buying the albums anymore. At $20 apiece, its just not worth it, especially when most of it doesn't even go to the artist. It's even worse when you drop money on something that you turn out to hate. Then there are people like me, who like artists/bands who never come within a 3 hour drive of my area. Were the situation different, I'd be enjoying multiple concerts a month.

But no, I have no guilt when it comes to pirating; hell I'm proud to say I do. I refuse to pay exoribitant amounts of money that the artists never even see. That being said, I do happen to listen to a few independent artists and gladly support them - that I have no problem with.
 
Illegal downloading is by the far the most justified illegal activity I've ever seen. The comparison to drugs is completely valid. People set around making excuses for what they do, and it's hilarious. I hate the whole expensive excuse, if you can't afford entertainment, get a better job. I can afford to buy the music I like to listen to, and if I can't, a subscription to a music site is like 10 dollars a month. Are we really supposed to believe you can't afford that either?

I only download demos and unreleased stuff. And it's not like anyone's losing money over that, because it's not released. Even then, I am breaking the law every time I do it, and there is no excuse for it. All this talk of people having enough money, what if your boss decided you had enough money and didn't pay you anymore to do your job? I bet you wouldn't be complacent with it.
 
I have a simple solution: Spotify.

I wasn't beyond downloading some free music some years ago. I was lazy and had little money. Then I grew up. :lew:

Anyway, I don't condone the practice of pirating, but it doesn't bother me if others are doing it. I'd rather pay a small monthly fee to get (most of) the same things. It's all about preference.
 
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