The Ethics of MP3's

king John I

king John I

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When people want to get music they like they have a few choices, mainly they can either buy CD's or they can download mp3's off kazaa and write thier own, i'm just saying i know a lot of my friends who just download the music and write thier own cd without giving 1 cent to the music developers. This isn't really a question but, if more people are doing this then the bands dont have the money to produce the music and therefore they wont produce anymore music.

Do you people get mp3's rather than buying the cd's, if so shame on you!

remember could bands need your support, and your money
I only get mp3's when i cant find the particular track at any music store in my town(and if i cant order it off the internet too).

What do you do? can you explain the ethics of MP3's to me?
:cheers:
 
mp3s are useful in a way. i know someone in Slovenia who can't buy and Marilyn Manson cds because they're not for sale anywhere in her country, so she downloaded all the albums she wanted. but here's the upside, she wrote out a cheque for the correct amount that the albums were worth and mailed it to marilyn manson (what a nice girl eh?).

what's even nicer was that marilyn manson sent her a letter saying how illegal it was to download mp3s and sent her all the albums she'd paid for on a cd and asked her to delete the mp3s, which she did.

anyway that was completely off topic, but i heard napster was making a comeback. they're gonna charge per song you download and offer discounts if you download the whole album. but it's only available inside the states at the moment, so make the most of it. i think it will be the future for those who can't be arsed to get to the shops.

on the subject of ethics, i'd have to say that i do not sympathise with the big label artists. they rip their customers off with poorly put together music (****in hell, mariah carey gets $300 million or something to pen a new album, when brilliant new bands get shunted to the side).

i don't know where my argument is going here, but basically, mp3s are a good way to get a band small band noticed. some small underground british metal bands deliberatly leak their album onto p2p just so people will hear about them.

of all the music i own, i have downloaded about 2% of it, A. because i like supporting the bands, B. i don't normally pay for it.

£15/$20 for a music cd is a little too much i think. considering how much they charge for live concert tickets (£50 for Iron Maiden anyone?). if the napster system works then cds in shops are dead.

i hope someone can decifer something of this rambling, i'm going for another joint.
 
you may like your mp3's but if you ripped em of kazaa, and you havnt bought a single track from that band, dont you think your ripping them off? :imu:
 
To be honest, very little of your money actually heads to the artist, but rather to the labels.
This is an excellent essay on the topic (note the author): http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2003-09-07-1.html
The real issue with MP3s is that you can quickly and easily download what you want, not shell out the $10-$20 for an entire CD you don't want, and add to that the massive twisting of copyright law and shameful actions of the music industry recently and my sympathy is almost zero.
But since the dawn of iTunes on Windows I've been snapping up tracks like crazy because it delivers everything I could want from a service like that. (The fact that it sold over 1 million tracks in 3 days means plenty of people agree with me too.)
Overall the music industry is in a rut and is going to need to run if it wants to catch up with the times, and suing your fans is not only malicous and stupid, its wasted effort.
 
nice post dedalus, but still i was talking about people who dont buy a single track the own, some of them even sell thier home written cd's at school, the black market stuff that geos on in schools eh? i was just asking people if some of them felt that mp3's were a good thing because so far i just dont bend that way.
 
I think they are a good thing, if only to shake the music industry out of its funk.
And trying to can and sell music like everything else has always seemed to be a bit contrary to the spirit of it if you ask me. But perhaps the best side of it is that people ho ordinarily wouldn't listen to much music or only to a few bands are suddenly exposed to everything and anything. Its resulted a massive broadening of many people's horizons, and I've gotten to listen to 10x the music that I could ever afford to buy (I still spend what money I can).
 
hmm, i don't think it's a black or white answer. more like kind of inbetween. good in a way because it can get small bands heard, and bad for the artists because they lose a bit of money.

i suppose it depends on the artist. 'artists' like gareth gates and will young and any ****ing boy band out there deserve to be ripped off because generally their music is absolute shite.

i've seen kids trying to sell copied cds at schools, and there's almost always a big market stall in Camden market and in Brixton whenever i go. it's a problem that's everywhere, but the fact is, do we really care? not many people know any music artists who make their sole living off the cds they sell. i know band members who have part time jobs to supplement their work.

metallica/marilyn manson: start working in a walmart if you need to make ends meet.
 
The music industriy so too conservative, and simply can't embrace this new form of media. instead they want to get rid of it completely. Their threats of sueing people who donwload off Kazaa are pointless as well. Yes, you've really got the resources, man power and time to sue a few million people.
 
I haven't actually seen anyone trying to sell music from the net, simply because anyone can jump online and grab their own copies for free if they want to, therefore negating the point.
Edit: The actual number is around 60 million people (I'm not sure whether thats just US or international, but I'd hazard a guess that its US).
 
check out www.napster.com

you'll be paying for the mp3s but you'll be supporting the artists you like at the same time for a reduced price. personally i think it's the best compromise.
 
Napster has to prove it can put up the selection and quality of iTunes, but if it can it will be a force to be reckoned with.
And I'd suggest you check out Magna Tune: http://www.magnatune.com/
This is the way I think we'd all like it to be.
 
magnatune looks pretty impressive. it probably needs a bit more press and exposure to be a hit. "We are not evil." ok i believe you (not)

so, there's two companies that see mp3s as the way forward and are trying to banish the 'bad vibes' mp3s have been giving off. before long mp3s may be 'good clean and wholesome', who knows.
 
Originally posted by king John I
When people want to get music they like they have a few choices, mainly they can either buy CD's or they can download mp3's off kazaa and write thier own, i'm just saying i know a lot of my friends who just download the music and write thier own cd without giving 1 cent to the music developers. This isn't really a question but, if more people are doing this then the bands dont have the money to produce the music and therefore they wont produce anymore music.

Do you people get mp3's rather than buying the cd's, if so shame on you!

remember could bands need your support, and your money
I only get mp3's when i cant find the particular track at any music store in my town(and if i cant order it off the internet too).

What do you do? can you explain the ethics of MP3's to me?
:cheers:
Click to expand...
http://mcdonalds.nm***/raznoye/misc/misc10.jpg
 
"my" ethnics of mp3s: the music you can buy today is a piece of crap, except for a few good songs of few bands or artists. either these few good songs are put on a compilation with 2 cds, where 1.5 cds of the content is main stream crap, i don't want to pay for since i won't listen to it more than one time. or they're put on cds of these artists or bands, where half the content is crap, or i personally simply don't like it. and i don't want to pay like 15-25 bucks for a cd, where half or 2/3 of the content isn't worth my money. (counts more for these main stream compilations than for the cds of a single artist/band).

it's way easier to get the tracks you really like and ignore the rest. if there was a real good portal/service which provides mp3s/music for a good price (i know there already a few) that'd be a good reason to actually buy music. well..for some ppl 99cent (like in some of these music provider services) are already too much, but if you don't buy a full cd but only a few songs the price is ok.
 
I have Napster to thank for widening my music taste. Before I had a very small spectrum of artists I liked... and now, I love music, lot's of music. Without Napster, I'd probably still be stuck in a rut..

I buy cd's of bands that deserve the money e.g. :

NOFX, Mad Caddies, Badger Legion (who actually encouraged me to download their songs, and share them with my friends [and Badger Legion also have the added bonus of having 'Badger' in their name :thumbs: ) etc :)

However, I plan to get iTunes as soon as possible :)
 
http://mcdonalds.nm***/raznoye/misc/misc10.jpg
Click to expand...

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha,

that is really funny, heh heh:cheese:

Also, personally i dont care about this situation, the actuall point that noone got was how do bands actually continue to make music with no money?
 
ok, maybe not caring is a bit too lax, yes i do care, i just like to support my favorite bands and it annoys me to think theyll stop making music because of this, i guess i'm just to paranoid.
 
Generally I only ever download mp3s of odd singles or rare songs that aren't available on albums. Generally if I really like a tune I'll fork out for the album at some stage.

Unfortunately I agree there is a culture of people who consider the internet as a free ride to all sorts of stuff, music, films etc, without any throught for the people who supply the stuff.

I've never downloaded films, simply because they take too long, and I like the extras you get with DVDs.

Occasionally I download warez, but only really so I can learn packages (I'm a designer) in my personal time. If I was running a business I'd buy the software so I could get the online support (and also not get arrested).
 
I don't mind downloading tracks that I would never have bought anyway, because in my mind nobody is losing out on anything (ie. they wouldn't have made any money out of me either way).

But I buy all the albums that I like, and that includes a few that I originally copied and would never have known about otherwise. So there is a good side to it, it depends on the person.
 
I think it's ok to download if you don't really know if you like the artist or maybe if you only like a few songs, but then if you like them, you oughtta go buy the cd and support them. Sure a lot of money is diverted to the record label, but if the record label isn't making money off the artist then they won't be putting the music out. Personally, the only music I download is what I get legally off some artists websites for songs that they don't put out in cds.

Rob Hotchkiss (used to be guitar player in Train) answered a question about record labels and downloading music on his website; it's pretty interesting from his viewpoint:
"To me, the music industry is what you make of it. If your goal is absolutely to sell as many records as possible, the major labels have the resources to make that happen. Of course, in order to do so, you are obliged to play by their rules. For better or for worse, you become your own best promotional tool - which leads to a life of constant touring, radio shows, television performances, meet-n-greets, etc. If you like that sort of thing, being on a major label is the way to become a rock star."
"Personally, I'm very excited about the future of the music business. The internet to me was always meant to be a "web," where people share links; where fans of one band can get turned on to other bands, etc. I'm seeing that already, having only yesterday added Luce's link to my site. And as I hear more interesting music, I'm going to pass it along to you all.
The music world back in the sixties and seventies seemed to be about community. It'd be nice to think that it's getting back to that.
As far as file-sharing, I'd have to agree with the approach where one uses it to sample music, but not to stop buying it altogether. We need to remember that if no-one buys music, there's not going to be any music."

sorry for long quoting in post; just thought it gave some good insight.
 
I downloaded every song I have. Now I am in favor of supporting the artists, but I have certain qualms with this whole business.

the artists get too little of the royalties. I mainly listen to they might be giants, got about 135 songs of theirs, and I would,, if I could, give em a hundred bucks or so for all their songs I get. if they get all 100, I figure its more than what they get from album sales and I pay less. but anywya, yeah. I'm all for supporting bands, but paying 20 bucks for a music CD is way too much. Not to mention it owuld require going to the store. As for the new mp3 download sites, where you pay and whatnot, sounds like a good idea. pay a little money, get exactly the song you want, take the fuss out of p2p (can't find all the songs that way).

I'm rambling. Anyway, to summarize: CDs: too expensive, too little to artists. P2P: bad for bands. Pay mp3 sites: good idea. me: cheapskate.
 
If all I'd ever known musically was the punk I was listening to when Napster debuted and what my friends liked I'd be a much, much different person today. I have no qualms about saying that P2P changed my life.
But at the same time I also agree that if you can afford to, give the good artists your money. Thats the upside here: if you suck, don't expect to make as much money anymore.
 
I'm going to buy all my music from iTunes to be honest, since none of it goes to Apple (although I wouldn't object), all the money goes to the bands. \o/

Anyway... I just cannot afford to buy albums, so I'm going to pay for the music I want that way... i just hope all my fave bands are on iTunes... could someone tell me?

Mad Caddies
The Specials
NOFX
Lanterns
Echo & the Bunnymen

and others..
 
Originally posted by king John I
What do you do? can you explain the ethics of MP3's to me?
Click to expand...

**** the music industry. Ethics? What ethics?

I'll download more madonna songs to piss everyone off. Then I'll delete them and download them again.
 
Re: Re: The Ethics of MP3's

Originally posted by )[eVo]( Para
I'll download more madonna songs to piss everyone off. Then I'll delete them and download them again.
Click to expand...

:LOL:

You go girl! :D
 
how much are you paying for your music??? £20, thats a lot, i can generally get a large album or 20 track cd for £10 or less. :D

There are no real ethics to anything really, i just wanted to know what other people did and if i was one of the only people who pay for thier music (no insult intended :))
 
I'm boycotting the music industry at the moment. I don't care about ethics. I'm not giving 1 cent to an industry that is threathening an entire generation with lawsuits(=being poor and going to prison). They say P2P is evil? I say they're EVILER!
Whenever a band I like is in town, I go see them. Artists get the entire ticket you pay minus expenses for the show, and the labels get squat.
When you buy their CD they get 1 or 2 cent. So you'd better not buy cd's, since the remaining amount is for the labels. And they pay lawyers to sue your ass!

BOYCOT TIME! BOYCOT TIME!
 
Yup iTunes looks cool, just waiting for it to gets its ass into the UK :)
 
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