Illegal Downloading Of Music, Movies, Etc.

[Nine]

I download music from time to time.

Another reason I download music, is because I want to try listening to the band/singer before I go out and buy an album from them.

If I like that band a lot, yes I will buy their albums to support them.

[Guest jikkOH]

^

I second that. Sometimes I download previews to see what the music is like.

[Guest the sweetest prince]

I myself as a musician/song writer don't believe in profit off of what I love to do. I'd rather be heard than not at all. There's so much music out there worth checking out, and spending money on all those musicians is just unrealistic. I understand the struggle of being a musician, but you can't download a t-shirt. So find a different way to adapt to this day and age.

As far as Movies go, I'd be lying if I said I haven't seen an illegally downloaded movie. But at the same time I have given my fair share of profit to the cinema industry.

So you love making music so much, you dont want to make a living doint it?

[MakahaMusic]

Call me a bad person if you want but I give my money to the artists. Directly. I hand them $20 in cash after a show. Or buy them a drink. (obviously these aren't giant stadium shows but small venues)

Wow, that' a cool idea!!!

I've never even heard of that....

that cuts out the middle man, no major or indie label to pay--the profit goes directly to the artist.

That's a really cool idea....

of course, many songwriters don't perform live, or just plain suck at singing....so they don't do it

another cool idea I've read about is bands/artists asking their fans to pay the studio/engineer costs of their next album in exchange for their name on the CD credits (sometimes it sounds better to go into a professional studio and record at >$60 per hour, rather than record it yourself, especially if you're not proficient in recording/producing music--it can be expensive in a pro studio)

going into a pro studio and using their multi-track and $3,000 Neuman microphones and spending 70 or 80 hours recording 12 songs at $60 per hour, you can easily spend more than $5,000 producing a CD

...which is another reason that songwriters/bands/artists need to be compensated for their music....who is going to pay for those costs?

[Guest Stolen_waters]

wrong, but I do it anyway.

Though I also buy original ones, especially the ones that I really like and are worth keeping an original copy of like classics (e.g. movies based on Jane Austen's novels ).

And for music, I only buy good ones too. I like classical music, so all of my classical music cds are original, and I also buy cds of artists I most likely will meet (so I have something they can sign on).

[Guest xxrainbowsun]

I think it's wrong.

However, I did download some of my songs illegally, but stopped when I found out that it was illegal.

[MakahaMusic]

I think it's wrong.

However, I did download some of my songs illegally, but stopped when I found out that it was illegal.

well you stopped....

good for you

[whoamax]

I know for a fact that it's wrong, but for music in particular, I download illegally just because I like to listen to a lot of music and I listen to full albums. If I were to legally purchase all the albums I have currently have, I'd probably be on the streets. I really can't compare downloading music illegally with downloading movies illegally because I don't watch movies 24/7 like a do with music, and I can rent a movie once a week and be satisfied. Music gets old for me quickly, and there isn't any rental procedure for music that'll keep me satisfied. I want it on my iPod and computer. And I really think to have a good understand or to talk about music to a certain extent, you need to have listened to a lot of songs/albums. Getting it legally would be way too much and be a hassle. iTunes isn't appealing because of their stupid file protection and their mediocre quality and cds, well they're not always easy to find if you're looking for obscure artists, or asian artists in general.

That's all I've got to say on the subject for now.

[onewhite lie]

I understand how it's wrong, but on one side we're promoting their works.

I personally have nothing wrong with it as long as we credit.

[5880]

It's one of those things we inherently know is wrong, but simply don't care given our current financial situation.

If it's a big time artist like Kanye or Beyonce, heck pirate away, they still have enough money to swim in,

but for small time or underground artists, it would be good to support them and buy their songs

For movies, well that's difficult, if your just checking it out to see if it's interesting, I suppose it's alright.

For games, ugh, I seriously wish software prices could drop just a bit. Unlike movies and music, games don't have as much hype and sales are much much more important. I try to buy games to help developers keep going and contribute to the capital to spurn their creativity

I think after your like 25+ or w/e, you should make an effort to buy intellectual property xD it's only the mature thing to do and there's something about buying a song or a movie and holding it in your hands that's not found in pirating

[Guest dolcedor.]

Wow, that' a cool idea!!!

I've never even heard of that....

that cuts out the middle man, no major or indie label to pay--the profit goes directly to the artist.

That's a really cool idea....

of course, many songwriters don't perform live, or just plain suck at singing....so they don't do it

another cool idea I've read about is bands/artists asking their fans to pay the studio/engineer costs of their next album in exchange for their name on the CD credits (sometimes it sounds better to go into a professional studio and record at >$60 per hour, rather than record it yourself, especially if you're not proficient in recording/producing music--it can be expensive in a pro studio)

going into a pro studio and using their multi-track and $3,000 Neuman microphones and spending 70 or 80 hours recording 12 songs at $60 per hour, you can easily spend more than $5,000 producing a CD

...which is another reason that songwriters/bands/artists need to be compensated for their music....who is going to pay for those costs?

The label?! They receive such a large cut of the profits compared to everyone else. I'm sure it would not hurt them to distribute the profits a little more evenly among their own artists and their songwriters and producers.

[Guest bubblegum-chum-cherry-bum]

it's bad for the companies, but it is more convenient for me.

[MakahaMusic]

Wow, that' a cool idea!!!

I've never even heard of that....

that cuts out the middle man, no major or indie label to pay--the profit goes directly to the artist.

That's a really cool idea....

of course, many songwriters don't perform live, or just plain suck at singing....so they don't do it

another cool idea I've read about is bands/artists asking their fans to pay the studio/engineer costs of their next album in exchange for their name on the CD credits (sometimes it sounds better to go into a professional studio and record at >$60 per hour, rather than record it yourself, especially if you're not proficient in recording/producing music--it can be expensive in a pro studio)

going into a pro studio and using their multi-track and $3,000 Neuman microphones and spending 70 or 80 hours recording 12 songs at $60 per hour, you can easily spend more than $5,000 producing a CD

...which is another reason that songwriters/bands/artists need to be compensated for their music....who is going to pay for those costs?

The label?! They receive such a large cut of the profits compared to everyone else. I'm sure it would not hurt them to distribute the profits a little more evenly among their own artists and their songwriters and producers.

the major labels are on borrowed time because of the illegal downloading

they won't be around for long....

who will pay these costs when they're gone??

[Guest Procrastinator001]

I download music illegally and yes I do admit that I do sometimes feel guilty. But like as others have mentions, I simply don't have the money. You don't think I'll like to get my hands on one of Big Bang's albums. I'll be jumping up and down if I can even see the albums in the stores where I live.

I do get your points and frankly I think you're just repeating yourself now. And even if you were to get the point across and get the 100 or so people who have come across this thread to stop downloading, what's to stop all the other millions around the world from downloading?

Downloading has become a social norm. Few decades ago, gays were discriminated against but nowadays, you're consider ignorant if you don't support them. It's a social norm to accept the gays, just as it is a social norm to download music. No matter how much you preach it's only going to cause a ripple. Sorry to say this, but it's true.

[Guest dolcedor.]

the major labels are on borrowed time because of the illegal downloading

they won't be around for long....

who will pay these costs when they're gone??

I honestly think you're grasping at straws now but what the hell, I'll humor you. So first of all, that's a tall claim to make and yes, album sales have gone way down over the years, but there are other ways of making money. For example, single sales have gone up considerably. Labels also make money by releasing different versions of the same album through multiple vendors. For instance, Walmart might have one edition and iTunes will have another, which encourages fans to buy 2-3 copies of the same album in order to get all the bonus tracks.

Artists are still able to sell millions each year, which should bring in more than enough profit for these major labels. I can't fathom it takes hundreds of millions of dollars in order for a label to operate.

But let's say illegal downloading has gotten so bad that labels are barely managing to stay afloat. Obviously things will start balancing themselves out. ie. instead of charging $60/hr for recording sessions, studios will obviously have to lower their rates in order to bring in more clients. Either that, OR, artists will start recording in their own homes, and produce their own records (which many already do). Things change; nothing remains stagnant.

But now I am quite certain you're gonna argue, "lower rates mean cheaper equipment, which means lower quality music". To which I would answer, many musicians already produce their own music. No they don't hire A-list producers who overcharge to produce music, they do it themselves. If this means less auto-tune and other electronic noise, then so be it. The 80's didn't have such fancy equipment and yet the industry was doing fine.

I personally don't think the music industry will ever completely die. The bottom line is it will change, YES, and some people will be able to adapt to it, and others won't. There may well be no record labels in the future, but something else will replace them. An example of the industry adapting is the advent of iTunes. Before iTunes, there was no easy way to obtain legally downloaded music. Now, several years after it was first introduced, single sales have shot up substantially, lessening the impact of declining record sales.

One thing about the music industry that has changed for the better, I think, is the fact that record labels aren't as important as they were before. Back then, like in the 50's, it was absolutely necessary for an artist to be signed before they could even achieve anything. Nowadays, with youtube and myspace, people are able to promote themselves through said media, sometimes even eventually getting picked up by a label--major or otherwise, other times distributing their own material themselves. Obviously not everyone is lucky enough to get picked up by a label or to gain a large following, but the fact that it's even possible is an improvement from the past.

So at the end of the day, no one can say for certain what will happen to the music industry in the years to come, but what is certain is that although it won't be the same as it was 10 years ago or even 5 years ago, it will definitely change and adapt over time (the keyword being adapt).

[Guest m i s o]

I personally think its wrong and unsupportive to download songs and other medias.

But then again I personally download songs. I usually download them to have a sample of their sound and then I buy the CD.

But I cant purchase legal versions of Korean artists such as Big Bang and Super Junior so I end up downloading all their songs. Actually just 2 weeks ago I went to China Town and bought the Super Junior 3RD album and I was excited to be promoting them, but when I went home and took a closer look it said SUPER JUNIOR 3RE ALBUM, I was super pissed and it was an example of why I dont buy those CD's since they dont really support the artist. If I could though, I would buy the real CD's.

Before you guys say "ORDER IT ONLINE, USE YUR PARENTZ CREDIT CARDZZ" I'm not old enough for credit card and my parents dont like me using their cards.

[MakahaMusic]

I honestly think you're grasping at straws now but what the hell, I'll humor you. So first of all, that's a tall claim to make and yes, album sales have gone way down over the years, but there are other ways of making money. For example, single sales have gone up considerably. Labels also make money by releasing different versions of the same album through multiple vendors. For instance, Walmart might have one edition and iTunes will have another, which encourages fans to buy 2-3 copies of the same album in order to get all the bonus tracks.

My friend Carlos is a major producer and the most talented musician I ever met:

http://www.carlosvillalobos.com/Carlos%20V...lobos/Home.html

and he's worked with major labels for many years and he says many staff that he used to know are now gone

Michael Laskow, president of TAXI (Taxi is an indie A&R service that I've been a member of), said the major labels will disappear and soon....

and I've heard the same thing from many inside the music industry....that's not a tall claim

and also, while single sales have gone up, it's nowhere near enough to make up for lost CD sales for the major labels

[MakahaMusic]

I myself as a musician/song writer don't believe in profit off of what I love to do.

I don't think there is anything wrong with it...actors, authors, artists, musicians all do it

[Guest i<3ramen]

it is wrong to do but i do it anyways since its never going to stop. plus dont some artist actually try to leak their own music online to encourage and promote their new upcoming albums?

[pinkslippers]

For me, this is not a matter of being right or wrong. rather, it's a matter of being ethical or not.

first, i believe downloading music for PERSONAL USE is fine. for me, it still reaches the ethical limit.

as many have probably said, music downloaded for free over the net helps marketing. it promotes the artist.

take for one, DBSK. there are hundreds of thousands of fans there of this band, who like me, downloads their albums and singles, and later on, we buy our own original copies too. maybe, yeah, there are still who refuse to buy the original and be contented with the illegally downloaded copy, but then i dont think you could pretty much put 100% of the blame on them.

first, i get pissed off when artists "beg" not to 'pirate' their CDs for the sake of money.

they dont see that for the sake of money too (to save money, specifically), do these people download their music over the net.

on the other hand, i believe it crosses the line if the movies/music you downloaded are being used to make money--you sell it.

it's very unethical for first and foremost, the music isnt legally theirs. only the cd or the case is theirs, but the music, the real intangible thing that makes the CD pricey isn't theirs. secondly, their way of "saving money" is just so unethical.

...

i have more else to say but i am already sleepy. i'll be back to add more if i remember. haha