[JBroll]

I'd be pissed about someone reading a whole book or magazine, or even something that I didn't authorize for sampling... you're still benefiting from someone else's work without their consent.

EDIT: If a band lets their music be downloaded, I have no objection (of course)... the problem is elsewhere. Hell, I listened to the new Soilwork, the new Testament, Textures... all sorts of things on their Myspace, but that's different because they are giving it away. And then I turned around and bought the first two, and will buy Textures stuff as soon as I have a paycheck in.

Jeff

[Drew]

This one can get ugly...

I'll quickly state the same arguments Ive put forth countless times around here. The only people file sharing hurts are the major labels, because unlike, say, learning about new music on MTV or the radio, the internet allows you access to anything,not just the bands with a multi-million dollar promotional budget. Downloading allows indie bands to compete head-to-head with the largest acts with the biggest promotional push, and since the major label business has for some time now focused on making music that's as inoffensive to as many people as possible, suddenly all of these indie labels and bands promoting music that they believe in have a shot at getting out to the masses.

The first year I started downloading, I probably bought more albums than in the entire 3-4 years prior. The difference was only about 10% of them were major label acts with heavy radio play, as opposed to maybe 90% previously. In the eyes of the Big 5, that's a huge revenue loss. In terms of actual purchasing, however, that's an explosion.

Filesharing democratises the music industry. No wonder the major labels hate it.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by JBroll

I'd be pissed about someone reading a whole book or magazine, or even something that I didn't authorize for sampling... you're still benefiting from someone else's work without their consent.

You have too much free time on your hands.

[JBroll]

Yeah, I'm done with school for a little while, I'll be back to work soon though...

Jeff

[adamgiroux]

i found this interesting:

ProgArt Media - CD artwork by Mattias Norén

he's an album cover artist who did the john petrucci solo album artwork and many other albums. a lot of people don't think about the other people affected by illegal downloading.

[urklvt]

I agree with Ken. Besides, only fast food and cheap "restaurants" charge up front for the food. I pay for my meal AFTER I eat. If it's total and compete garbage I won't even finish it and I sure as hell won't pat for it, but if it was just bad but not life threatening, I'd be having a talk with the manager about the bill. The comparison to downloading music doesn't work.

If I download something and like it I will buy. I have far more CDs than I should for that reason. But if I don't like it I delete it. Also, having lived in Germany for several years, I have bought many "brand new" CDs that have been "sampled" in their entirety prior to my purchase. It never pissed me off. I got the music I wanted and the fact that it had been listed to before I got to it didn't make it any less enjoyable once it started playing in my car stereo.

In the case of books and magazines the paper is what's for sale, not the content, unfortunately. If it's on display and it's not shrink wrapped, well, I'll sample to my heart's content. How different would it be if I walked into a library and pulled a book off the shelf and read it without ever taking it out of the building? No one would even question me at all. Another invalid comparison.

I can understand why some companies, like Apple, would create proprietary formats for their music content. How else can you restrict content from leaking? However, the moment a product becomes readily available to the public the author's consent becomes irrelevant. The content can't exactly be retracted and the only thing the artist can hope for is the integrity of their fans.

You can not fault someone for having copies of someone's music any more than for having excerpts of someone's writing. It may be considered unethical, but unless it is being copied and sold for profit you're not dealing in true crime. Theft of the medium carries far more weight than "theft" of the media.

[oompa]

well Jeff i guess we could go on about this forever, but i think i get what you mean and i hope you get my angle. ignore my restaurant comparison that i spent about 1 second figuring out and lets say it sucked. otherwise the following posters pretty much said what i was trying to say, but in a better way. Ken made a better comparison, Drew covered my view on how it benefits smaller bands and sucks for the dinosaurs etc.

alot of bands have gotten my money for their CD's and they wouldn't have if i didnt download their stuff, play it on my portable player at work (wich is the only place i can listen to music atm), realised that it's good stuff and ordered it. add live concerts on top of that.

i dont think any band i have 'done this to' would take it the wrong way, and i currently sleep very well at night, so peace

[JBroll]

Yeah, I do see where you're coming from. Honestly, I was the same way myself, until a certain idol of mine set things out from a different angle, so while I disagree I know exactly what you're after. While I don't agree that the 'only' people hurt by file sharing are labels, I would definitely enjoy a front-row seat to the RIAA's demise and the downfall of a few of the big names...

Jeff

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by JBroll

I'd be pissed about someone reading a whole book or magazine, or even something that I didn't authorize for sampling... you're still benefiting from someone else's work without their consent.

I hope you dont plan on publishing at anything available at a major bookstore chain, where they give you these awesome cushy chairs and no time limit to sit there and read to your hearts content. And besides, i might be able to get a gist of all the articles but theres no way im gonna read them all. So i skim that shit, see if i like it, and if i do, buy it. And just like CDs, sometimes i just buy them cause the cover's so cool. And if there's one really good article? Im just gonna read that and put the damn thing back.

[JBroll]

Like I said earlier, I don't plan to... this stuff just gets me too uptight to think about selling any of it, so I just do what I can for free and hope for the best.

Jeff