File Sharing Continued...

I, for one am one who buys all his music at used CD stores. All the money payed for an album goes to the person who sold it to the record store, and the shop itself. Though I am paying for the music, this is not much further from the same effect to the record industry created by file sharing (i.e. they are making no money off of me personally).

I don't feel guilty for download an mp3, just as I dont feel guilty buying a used CD, and neither the artist or record company profit from either of those.

I have never heard much about it, does the recording industry openly support buying used music as a replacement to filesharing?

 

MansOn,

Used CD stores don't really come into play here. The product has already been paid for. (most of the time) The industry can't charge you twice.

There was a news clip on Fox this morning that said legal action has been taken against many fileshare users. Something around 800 users.

Now I disagree with going after the user. I still think that free/unregulated distribution with no compensation for the owner of the music is wrong, but I think that the system needs to be revamped. ie: Make it so people have to pay a supscription or per download fee. That way, the musicians see some scratch. You pay for any other service? Right?

I am not against the technology. I think it is incredible. It has the potential to change alot. In fact, I plan to get an iPod soon. I just don't like the "free-for-all" sharing has become.

And as for my iPod, I plan to use it to digitize my 3000+ CDs.(90% that I paid for, thank you) I travel alot and the CDs tend to get scratched. The iPod would also lighten my load.

 

This got me wondering something. Let's just say that "they" figure a way to prevent free downloads/sharing/whatever---will the quality of new music begin to improve? I'm coming from the camp of "There's nothing worth stealing". (FWIW, I've never downloaded songs; my small Miles Davis and Sabbath collection keep me satisfied).

In the not-to-distant future when "ipods" are cheap do you think people will be selling them loaded with thousands of albums? Five years from now will I be able to pick one up off ebay for $100? With the equivalent of a big record store inventory?

 

Nobody's really addressed mcbassdude's initial comment about when recording first came about. I think that's a great point. I can imagine everyone panicking and saying "how am I going to make money if people only have to buy my recording...? It's as if they can have me play live for free whenever they want! I'm ruined!" And for a while that logic held, but once mass production became available it obviously changed how musicians made money and in fact helped them become even richer and helped music ultimately through increased distribution. But the musicians at the time couldn't have possibly foreseen mass productions of recordings and how they would come to make money off of music.

I think a similar revolution is happening with downloads. It's just so early in the revolution that no one can foresee how musicians will make money...I have faith in capitalism to sort things out. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that...

 

It was the same way with VCR's in the 80's. People came around, eventually. I think some kind of system will be worked out over the next decade, one hopefully fairer to musicians and users alike.

 

The RIAA totally ruined this whole file sharing deal. They really are greedy wortless piles of scum who care of nothing other than money.

They should've just worked out a deal with internet providers and Napster, or other download programs. Make it so that a small fee is added to the monthly bill, be it 5 dollars, 10 dollars, etc extra per month, and you'd be allowed to download a set number of songs. Say 200 or so for 5 dollars extra per month.

It would be a lot better than the moronic ideas they've been coming up with. Honestly

 

True, this created a new industry which employed folks. File sharing isn't creating anything, it is sucking the life out of an existing industry. A simular situation happened to me a 20 years ago here in WV when DJ's became popular. Where once there was jobs for a working band, 1 person with a turntable and trunk full of records replaced them. The so-called "Musicians Union" did absolutely nothing about it. The Union is pretty much nul and void now and working bands are making less money now then when the DJ's started working. The recording industry loved it though. The DJ's bought their CD's and promoted their products. Trouble is, now the DJ's are downloading everything and buying nothing. I saw a guy the other day doing his whole thing with 2 laptops. He told me he had downloaded his entire collections.

 

I think its wrong the RIAA is going after everyone. Its just the people who download mp3s flat out and have thousands of songs they havent paid for that are the problem. Me like lots of others here download one or two songs from and album and if i like what i here i will buy the cd, then everyone wins.

 

a comment from Marcus Miller in his new interview on Bassworld-
http://www.bassworld.co.uk/index.ph...splay&ceid=3&bid=110&btitle=Interviews&meid=5

"In terms of file sharing, I think it poses the biggest threat to artists who release albums with only a couple of good songs on them. With albums like this, all you have to do is download the couple of songs and you have everything you want. If the album is more complete, people will go out and buy the album. I think people really will go out and buy their favorite music."

 

Here is a quote from Jaco Pastorius himself regarding people copying his records without paying. (I know this is pre-internet, but I think his stance applies.)I got it from www.jacop.net

"Everybody tells me, 'Hey man, I've got a tape of your album'.....Which is sort of a drag, because it's illegal to do that to begin with and because I receive absolutely no money from the people doing that. Maxell(tape manufacturer)makes all the bread, you know?"

from 1978

 

I'm along the same lines - I don't like copied music, I like to own a genuine copy (you know what I mean!) of the album, either CD or vinyl.

However I'm slightly different in that I do download MP3s, the difference is that if I like a couple songs by an artist/group I will buy the CD (maybe several CDs). For example, my downloading 'Road to Nowhere' and 'Wild Wild Life' by Talking Heads led to me buying SEVEN of their albums After downloading four Voice of the Beehive songs, I bought their 'Best Of' album and 'Honey Lingers' (another album of theirs).

I think if you're prepared to download the music then, if you like it, you should be prepared to pay for it. I like to think of MP3s as 'Try before you buy' because at the same time I don't want to buy a whole CD to find out I don't like any of the tracks.

 

Mcbassdude,

If you want to buy used, then go for it. Buying a used cd or an LP is no big deal. I fail to see your logic. How is copying a CD the same as buying a used one? I buy used CDs myself.

A used CD store is not a big old hard drive.

Just because there is some original(paid for) file that may be able to be traced back 3000 copies on P2P doesnt mean sh*t. It does not justify copying.

I still stand by my original argument that putting up a collection of music for worldwide mass-distribution without the artist's consent is a HELL of a lot different than buying a used disc. Your argument does not hold water. P2P means you are making a copy. Not just for personal use, but for anyone who wants it, anywhere, anytime. (That is called bootlegging)

I will ask once more, why does no one make a subcription service for P2P???

God, you pay for any goods and services.......why is music different? NO ONE has been able to come up with a resonable argument for that yet.

I suggest that you re-read the Jaco quote I put up.

 

I think that Used CD stores aren't such a worry to the RIAA because they still deal with the physical media. Sure, you can buy it, copy it and sell it back to the store at a small loss (and yes, I'm sure that could technically get you sued) but it only happens one person at a time.

So, somebody buys a brand new disk, copies it for themselves and sells it at the used store. The next person does the same and so on. Assuming it takes an average of a week for someone to buy the disk, get round to copying it and then return it to the store (and that's probably way too short in reality, especially once the disk is out of the charts), that would only be 52 illegal copies over the course of a year and only a fraction of those affecting the main bulk of the sales.

However, if the initial purchaser made an online copy available, they could keep the physical media (or sell it to the used CD store if they so wished) and hundreds or thousands or people could take digitally perfect copies during the next couple of weeks (including copies of copies of copies - digital = no degradation).

Sure, it's free promotion... but the gamble is that the percentage of people who buy the a physical copy of the album is more than enough to balance those who would have bought it but decide not to. It could work, and maybe would if the record companies issued slightly watermarked but listenable copies on the net while at the same time ruthlessly pursuing illegal file sharing, but they don't seem inclined to take the risk....

So, there's a huge difference in the impact of used CDs as compared to P2P sharing - I'm sure the record companies would love to see both go, but the latter (rightly so) is perceived as a far more significant threat (which could be a potential opportunity... but they aren't looking at it that way).

Wulf

 

It is easy to miss with all the press and soundbites the file sharing side of things is getting, but the RIAA is also seeking legislation to outlaw second hand music shops. They aren't making a lot of public noise about it like they are with the file sharing, but they are seeking to get rid of that "problem" as well. To us, second hand music shops are great, but to the RIAA they are stealing (as the RIAA isn't getting paid on that sale). They aren't making public noises about this effort, as it would be next to impossible for them to get public sympathy for this position (but it is indeed their stated position). Links can be dug up is needed...