The Piracy of music is just plain wrong. New artist's need exposure to sell their music. So if it were offered for a limited time to listen for free but not download they can gain exposure and then sell, should the music be worthy. Easier said than done, though the Artist's deserve their due as their devotion has earned compensation.

Ninja, Purple...well said.

my two cents regarding the music industry: it can be summed up the same as many other institutions in modern society, be it government, industry, or what have you. the system caters only to those it can easily manipulate. and the sad reality is that, though many listeners are getting sick of the garbage being pumped out over the radio and television and ceasing to buy music, there is still a huge percentage of mindless sheep out there that will listen to whatever some tool on MTV (or wherever) tells them is good stuff. that is the only reason things are still being done this way. take any situation and any variables and plug and play. it's always the same. sadly, the general public is more often stupid than not

still though, excellent points guys. i totally agree.

-dave

That is already available through sites like myspace, and the one forum user Heustis used for his last album.
I completely agree that artists should be paid for what they do. I dont agree that some corporate fatcat should be paid for telling me what I should be listening to.
I dont agree that record companies help artists get worldwide exposure. I believe the internet, youtube in particular does a lot more. My latest craze is a classical duo from south America called Sequira Lima. Who would have thought a heavy metal kid from the back end of Brum could ever be exposed to such stuff twenty years ago.
Heres what I grew up listening to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kL9dTNYJFA&feature=fvw

Through the power of internet exposure, heres what I'm currently persuing and trying to translate portugese so I can enquire as to an album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzmWGmyNta8

Ok my musical horizons have broadend. I must say the majority of that has happened directly through internet exposure to such artists. Certainly not because some fool who signed Boyz2Men has deemed them worthy of exposure to the public.

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No no and no

Put an end to the internet?? (jokes, i couldn't live without it)

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riley

What people don't get is they're still getting smoked by the music industry. Think back when there was vinyl. You bought the sleeve, the artwork, the lyrics and the album itself. Then CD's. Way smaller package, way more expensive locally for a new release was $15-20. There was a class action suit years ago about price gouging on music CD's. The record companies lawyers buried it. I didn't get a single cent and my name was on the list.

Now you have a computer file. No artwork, no packaging, no CD, if you want the lyrics, you have to look them up and all this for roughly a buck a song? MP3's don't even sound that good either. Then look at the price of the concerts for major acts. A few years ago I paid $100 to see Clapton and still had to stand to see anything. The greedy creeps brought this on themselves. I don't even want to get started on the quality. They are dumbing down the consumer. Now Apple has a new $500 gizmo that does WIFI and the consumer can't replace the battery when it dies, but Apple will sell you a new unit for $99.


I don't buy major artists work. I don't steal it either. I'll eventually hear it on NPR and that's fine. If you want your money's worth, support your local bands and buy their CD's and tee shirts. That's what I do. The music is more interesting and creative anyway.

I agree, you shouldn't steal the music, but the industry shouldn't be stealing from the consumer either.

Once again sorry about the rant. As a musician, this topic really steams me. If you think the artists make all the money, think again. You'll find out if you ever have any dealings with a major record label. Be prepared to bend over.

NO! Why should I pay for your, or anyone elses, music download?

I see where you're coming from, 63supro.
Here's some computations from Courtney Love:
http://www.piratpartiet.se/referenser/c ... s_the_math

I'm not defending the majors in any way, but I do like indie labels; just keep it to a human level and make it worthwhile for all the parties involved. And make the love of music and artistic expression the main drivers behind all of it.
As a consumer, as I said, make it available for everyone, at a fair price and I'll buy everything I like.

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

Here is an article that I found interesting. It addresses quite a few of the issues discussed in this thread and the laws that already govern them. It's a little lengthy, but I found it a good read. Tech Republic is a good newsletter to subscribe if you like this kind of stuff. I'm not hawking it, I'm just sharing the info.

Without further ado... http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1400&tag=nl.e101

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You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.