Illegally Downloading Media.

Is piracy right or wrong?

  • Total voters
    15
I personally don't download music at all, but that's just because I love physically having the disc in my hand, being able to look through the booklet, to have something to get signed when I meet the artists, you know?

That said...no matter what measures are taken to prevent downloading, people are going to find a way.
 
I've never illegally downloaded music either. Most of the time, I just go get a gift card for $15 or so on itunes, and then proceed to get whatever I want there. Getting songs off sites such as limewire would be easier, but I don't want to full with all the hassle associated with doing so. I'm content downloading my music the good old fashioned legal way xD

The governement can try to stop the downloading all they want though, but I doubt they will succeed. There are ways around every rule afterall...
 
The way I see it downloading music is just like taping a song off the radio. Radio stations have to pay royalties every time they play a song. As for downloading music, someone usually buys a CD, then uploads it for people to download. In both cases someone has originally payed for the music and everyone else is free to store it for later. The difference is that recording a song off the radio isn't illegal.

As for the musicians themselves, I think that illegally downloading music is actually rather beneficial for the artists as it promotes their music for free. The artist shouldn't have to worry about profits considering they receive royalties for every time their songs are played on the radio. If their song happens to be featured in a movie they get royalties for every time the movie is shown on TV or in the cinema. Plus there are things such as CD sales and Live performances.
 
There is always sharing in some form or another. Just recently, I inherited my brother's entire collection of Rammstein songs--for the purpose of learning German, of course. And other people might trade games, share them around, etc. even if they don't own the game.

However, a second benefit of downloading stuff for free is things like fan subs or translations. There are often media which don't exist in one's own country that exist elsewhere, and thus you wouldn't be able to buy it locally. Or if you could, it would be of no use to you because you wouldn't understand it if it's in a foreign language. And sometimes, these media don't get translated officially from lack of interest--so people, out of their own goodwill, will go and make translations of these for free--other people who don't have local access to these kinds of media can now understand and watch or play or read them.
 
I usually download music to first listen to it to see if' i think it's worth getting the whole CD, or if i want a few select songs. Otherwise, i'd go buy just the songs from a service or buy the whole cd if i like most of em.

I have downloaded songs and etc. in the past, but more recently, i've actually been trying to get hard copies of all the stuff i have, from games to movies to cd's and software.
 
Vayne Solidor said:
I'm sure we've all seen on the news recently about how the Government are hoping to cut down on the numbers of people illegally downloading media, particularly music. One of the proposed measures would be to send viruses through your computer attached to your downloaded file, preventing your computer from operating. Another would be to fine both yourself and the site from which you are downloading your files.

So, what are your thoughts on these new proposals?

Personally, I'm infuriated. Aye, I've been known to download a number of songs from Limewire and suchlike - who hasn't? I'm well aware that it's illegal and that I shouldn't be doing it, as are the Government. What really annoys me is that they've identified the sites, which provide the songs for downloading [they showed Limewire on the BBC News, although didn't directly say - I just recognised it] and yet, instead of putting an end to the sites, they're just going to punish both people who use it - in other words, they'd prefer to profit before they actually want to tackle the problem they claim to be tackling anyway.
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I'm in deep pickles then, I've been using LimeWire for a month now -__-
So now, why do the Goverment not do any action on this? Until now I didn't realise it was illegal. I knew it was too good to be true. What am I to do now?
 
you know what i don't get is if someone resells a game on say amazon or e-bay the manufacturer does not get any money so why if you download the game for no cost is it illegal i wish some one would explain that to me. i mean either way the company is not getting my money
 
phantasmor said:
you know what i don't get is if someone resells a game on say amazon or e-bay the manufacturer does not get any money so why if you download the game for no cost is it illegal i wish some one would explain that to me. i mean either way the company is not getting my money
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Because when you sell a game on amazon or ebay, you are only selling the copy you originally bought. Also only one person (the buyer) is getting the game.

Whereas when people download a game illegally, thousands of people are getting the game for free. Which means that out of the 10 thousand people that download the game, only the original uploader has paid for it (and in many cases the game hasn't been paid for at all).

It is also illegal to sell burnt copies of a game on ebay, because you only paid for the original copy.

Laro said:
I'm in deep pickles then, I've been using LimeWire for a month now -__-
So now, why do the Goverment not do any action on this? Until now I didn't realise it was illegal. I knew it was too good to be true. What am I to do now?
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It's not illegal to use Limewire, it's just illegal to use it to download licensed material. Unfortunately, the majority of stuff I've found on Limewire is licensed.

But I wouldn't worry too much, I've been using Limewire for about three years now and before that I was using Napster, Morpheus and WinMX and I've yet to come across any trouble.
 
thank you for explaining that to me but what about old games that you can't find any more i mean i don't want to spend an arm and a leg for one of the few copies left and for that fact if there are few copies left i think there should be a way to play that game and if they don't remake the game i want a way to play it
 
I agree with The_Bard

The government must realize. If people want to do something they are going to do it regardless of the consequenses. You can't tell someone they aren't going to listen to their favorite song or tell them that they can't download an entire album before it's released because if the government were to attach viruses. Then here comes another program that blocks the virus and therefore lets the music come through.
 
What makes the government right in punishing anyone? I think these "illegal" sites should be rewarded instead of punished: It is difficult to get anything that doesn't have some sort of tax attached to it.

And, plus, isn't it wonderful how quickly culture can spread if everyone has access to it? The government obviously disagrees w/ this method because they cannot profit from it. Isn't it interesting how since the government existed, certain types of knowledge was unable to publicly accessed easily. The government should think about the planet and the people before their precious "profit"!
 
I weep for the broken cd industry, that made all the bands have to have a dayjob, instead of being able to get cash from touring.

For some reason all of you guys want to defend people who steal the music, get it illegally, without spending a dime on an artist who works his ass off to make for a living. What? You don't like being punished? What do you want? A reward? Maybe goverment should let you, or your parents pay less taxes for getting the music you didn't pay for?

Me says: As long as it is illegal, there is no right to whine that there is punishment for the crime. Either try to make it legal, by being willing to pay more taxes/ more cash for live performances and somehow convince the government to pay from the taxes to the musicians(unlikely), or stop whining about how bad it is that you can't steal some music, because of a virus.

For some reason I have a feeling that some people would like a "I'm Special" badge just for them. What makes you feel that you deserve to not to pay for someone elses work?
 
I would think that the only time when somehting like this wouldn't and shouldn't be punished is when somehting is not produced anymore and the only way to find it is to download it off the net. Other then that, yeah....if one can buy it off the store and such then by all means, artists have to eat too. =/

~Tifa~
 
Tifa Rokkuhato said:
I would think that the only time when somehting like this wouldn't and shouldn't be punished is when somehting is not produced anymore and the only way to find it is to download it off the net. Other then that, yeah....if one can buy it off the store and such then by all means, artists have to eat too. =/

~Tifa~
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Amen. Exactly - Half the CDs I look for these days are from older generations and such.

The problem is music is losing it's creativity and originality. I fear as if we don't have anything else to look forward to except over repetitive rock music who people seem to be brain washed to and the artists who produce them are making 1 hit wonders ... such as Buck Cherry. (worst band ever)

When I look for the other cds on amazon and Itunes and whatever else "legal" sites are out there, I am not able to find them. Also Amazon does not donate to artists for used cds, so basically they make profit off of stuff that does not belong to them. (percentage of seller/buyer)

I'm sorry if you are bitching because you are an artist either. Here's what I mean, if you make a demo try getting it out there for the first time these days. It is nearly impossible unless you are highlighted by another band during a live show. As in you play first by mainstream bands. That's the only way you get heard, there's no other way.. I mean you can't expect to play in your mother and father's basement or coffee shops or high school stages.. for the rest of your life, you would have to have a job elsewhere..

I don't feel sorry for artists because they now know the value of labor outside the music industry. So what do I truly think of media illegally downloaded? Free advertisement. If you complain about that... well you sir.. need a day job.
 
I'm all for "illegal" downloading in certain situations. For example, I don't have a problem with ROMs of video games that you can't find anywhere anymore. I don't care if people download one or two songs from a CD they just don't like the rest of the songs on, or songs on a CD that's been out of production for years. Old movies that you can't even buy on ebay are also perfectly ok to download by me.

However, I am completely opposed to people who download films, CDs, or video games that you can find brand new at any Wal Mart, Best Buy or online retailer with ease. That's theft, plain and simple.

I absolutely abhor the argument of, "well not everyone can afford all these things." Not everyone can afford a Porsche, so I guess its fine for me to break into a dealership and steal one. Not everyone can afford to dine at 5 star restaurants, so dine and dashing these places shouldn't be a crime either, right? Or why don't we just kill these two birds with one stone and rob a bank, its only fair that we take this money since we can't afford all of life's pleasures.
 
I would that if I was in the artists' shoes, I would not want people downloading and retrieving my music without paying for it.

Unfortunately...I have downloaded a bunch of items/music/movies to put on my iPod, burn CD's and watch on my laptop. I mean as soon as I put them where I want, I delete them from my computer, but still, I'm guilty of it. Actually it's getting harder to find anywhere to do that now since most sites are cracking down harder and making you pay for their downloads, but I still see ways around it.
 
information should be free, no matter what form of information it is and everyone should have equal access to it.
about musicians......giving songs away for free = more people listen to it = more people like it = more people that want to see you actually play it = money
videos > movie theatre = money
games > online gaming/addons = money
i played red alert 2 illegally...loved it, bought it to play online also. red alert 3, i stopped playing it faster than the time it would take me to go to the shop to buy it. so instead of crying about ur wasted money and time you can go enjoy ur favourite band playing live.
 
LuvHerEyes said:
information should be free, no matter what form of information it is and everyone should have equal access to it.
about musicians......giving songs away for free = more people listen to it = more people like it = more people that want to see you actually play it = money
videos > movie theatre = money
games > online gaming/addons = money
i played red alert 2 illegally...loved it, bought it to play online also. red alert 3, i stopped playing it faster than the time it would take me to go to the shop to buy it. so instead of crying about ur wasted money and time you can go enjoy ur favourite band playing live.
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Lol, that's actually the exact opposite of the concept of selling art. It looks a little more like this: giving songs away for free = people see the word free = people take advantage of the fact that they aren't obligated to pay = more or less the same amount of people listening to the music/not purchasing the intelligent property = lower profit.

Just because you would download something for free and then buy it doesn't mean that everyone else will. You also have to realize that not everyone have $60.00 they can blow off on a video game every now and then or a $15.00 CD they can find on Limewire for free or an $8.00 movie ticket when they can just find it streaming online. The more you give people a chance to take something for free, the more they're going to utilize the opportunity and the less cash you're gonna see rolling in.

While I don't mind having to pay for some things, I do mind the fact that the prices are getting outrageous. Not only that, but the fines/settlements against people who do download music illegally are way too harsh. To be honest, I think the new thing the RIAA is trying out is a little less prick-ish (limiting or cutting off internet access as approved by your ISP), because then you're not stuck with a huge fine you know you can't pay off. Not saying it's the answer to the issue of downloading illegally, but I'd rather not have the net at home and just use a computer somewhere else (there are ways around it).
 
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i didnt mean more money than they would make right now, but that people would pay for something that they actually like. just making an album and then crtl+c ctrl+v the product to get more money just isnt right imo.
someone made an example about porsches and restaurants.....but cars and food are hand made one by one. people should pay for a service, like a concert. an mp3 of ur song should be just advertisement
 
information should be free, no matter what form of information it is and everyone should have equal access to it.
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If this is your logic then stealing anything is justified. Those people made the information, it belongs to them unless you pay to own a copy of it. That's like saying Ferrari's should be free and equal access to everyone, so I can steal one.
 
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