Revolution?

[Casey]

Are the RIAA winning the battle against file-sharing?

OiNK got shut down
Demonoid got shut down
Albumbase got shut down

a bunch of MASSIVE DC++ hubs got shut down

The Pirate Bay will be gone soon from what I hear...

You know, they say others will replace what got shut down....but it's been nearly a month since OiNK went, and the two new sites that sprang up to replace it are struggling to get more than a few thousand users.......nothing compared to the 180,000 registered members of OiNK......

As an artist, I'm pleased. I still buy music, because I love music and I like to support the artists.

Are we in for a musical revolution?

 

[SiGh]

I'm glad they got shut down, people need to go out and buy cds damn it.

 

[Sebastian]

Fact is: No "normal" guy can afford to pay for every song/album he likes or wants to listen to.

I dont care if these sites get shut down though. I rarely download music anyway.

 

[k69atie]

I agree with it.

It kills music - legal down loads are fine, but illegal ones - yeah i think they should be fined - it is theft at the end of the day.

I don't download - legal or otherwise - i only buy my cd's.

 

[Synful*Luv]

I think it sucks, I don't want to waste money on an entire CD put out by a horrible artist who happened to have one hit catchy song that I like. It's such a disgusting waste of money. Also, and no offense to anyone in the music industry but seriously, the amount of money made for doing something you like to do anyway is nuts. The gov't regulates all this ridiculous stuff but what needs to be regulated is the ridiculous amount of money entertainers make. I know, it's not possible it won't happen, etc. It just sucks that people are in countries starving and someone can make billions of dollars simply for doing something that they would probably do anyway for free if they could.

 

[SiGh]

^Isn't that why they have itunes? You can buy ONE track at a time, you don't have to buy the entire album.

 

[Synful*Luv]

True, but they don't always have everything. They also don't get it as fast as the file sharing sites. Furthermore, if someone would like to freely share a song with me, I do not want to be forced to say no thank you to their gift and be forced to spend a dollar.

 

[SiGh]

download off myspace, most popular songs by an artist is available on they myspace, no? or youtube. I dunno, its early, im tired

 

[k69atie]

maybe not - but the law is the law!

 

[Casey]

Fact is: No "normal" guy can afford to pay for every song/album he likes or wants to listen to.

I dont care if these sites get shut down though. I rarely download music anyway.

So don't buy it then. If you don't spend the money, you don't get. Entertainment should not be free because people do it for a LIVING, just like anyone else. Would you expect a builder to build you a house for free? A painter to paint you a painting?

I'm glad they got shut down, people need to go out and buy cds damn it.

I agree.

I think it sucks, I don't want to waste money on an entire CD put out by a horrible artist who happened to have one hit catchy song that I like. It's such a disgusting waste of money. Also, and no offense to anyone in the music industry but seriously, the amount of money made for doing something you like to do anyway is nuts. The gov't regulates all this ridiculous stuff but what needs to be regulated is the ridiculous amount of money entertainers make. I know, it's not possible it won't happen, etc. It just sucks that people are in countries starving and someone can make billions of dollars simply for doing something that they would probably do anyway for free if they could.

So why not by the one hit catchy song that you like, on iTunes? Or buy the CD single (a dying format, but still).

Synful, please don't speak about financial things. Do you know how much money musicians make? It's certainly not what people think it is. Half those rappers you see flossin their ice, cars and houses are in debt to the labels, and the cars, houses and ice are rented. That's the truth.

True, but they don't always have everything. They also don't get it as fast as the file sharing sites. Furthermore, if someone would like to freely share a song with me, I do not want to be forced to say no thank you to their gift and be forced to spend a dollar.

It may be "free" in your mind but the reality is, it's theft. It's no different than going down to the art gallery and stealing a painting.

In the wider scheme, that dollar you didn't spend is being taken from the artist, while you enjoy their hard work for free. Is that right? Artists are already suffering for it. There ARE people who previously could have made a fairly decent living from their music, are now unable to follow their dreams.

Also, labels are not investing in new talent anymore. Hence you get recycled bullshit on the radio all the time. The quality of music is lower than it has ever been? Why? Labels put money into what's been proved to work and dont take risks anymore.

 

[Synful*Luv]

Yeah, I know the labels are getting over. Believe me, I've heard about it a lot from a lot of different sources. That's something that musicians should, if possible look into figuring something out. I don't know how it all works, perhaps a strike like the writer's guilde? I dunno. If Artisits put out good music instead of shit music, I wouldn't have a problem buying their albums. I just purchased the new A.Keys and Killers album yesterday. But when they are putting out 13 garbage songs and one good one... I'm not paying for their new Benz. They need to step their game up. Remember when albums used to be quality material? I miss that. Those i'll pay for.

 

[Devious]

In the wider scheme, that dollar you didn't spend is being taken from the artist, while you enjoy their hard work for free. Is that right? Artists are already suffering for it. There ARE people who previously could have made a fairly decent living from their music, are now unable to follow their dreams.

Also, labels are not investing in new talent anymore. Hence you get recycled bullshit on the radio all the time. The quality of music is lower than it has ever been? Why? Labels put money into what's been proved to work and dont take risks anymore.

what you just said makes a lot of sense. however that exact reason, the fact that record labels are just putting out the same cookie-cutter artists and music, is the reason why illegal downloading has gotten so big. there are a lot of people out there who just want free shit, and don't think they should have to pay for it, which is ridiculous. your example of a builder building a house for free is a little extreme due to the disparity in costs between the 2, but a better example would be this: you wouldn't go into a Burger King and expect to get food for free, woud you?

but there are a lot of people who want to buy but just don't wanna pay the insane prices of music these days, especially when everything out there sounds like everything else. creativity in music is dying slowly. there is one thing the RIAA doesn't take into account when they shut these sites down tho: the majority of people i speak to thaty download also buy albums if they dl something they like. so by taking away the file sharing they are eliminating a lot of sales as well. and as for the comment about taking food out of artists' mouths, it's true and when it comes right down to it, it IS theft. but labels make way more off album sales than the artists ever do. most artists make their money touring (which is why concert ticket prices have reached insane proportions)

 

[Chronic]

On the hand one I agree that there's something very wrong with downloading. And it definitely hurts the music industry when someone downloads an album that they would've bought other otherwise.

On the other hand I only have a problem with uploaders/bootleggers. They are the ones that make it available and do the damage. But downloading isn't exactly stealing. They have those ridiculous commercials that compare downloading an mp3 to stealing a car. When you steal a car the owner is actually missing something. When I download an mp3 it has 0% effect on anyone but me. I'm not taking anything away from the artist. (That only goes for albums I would've bought had I not been able to download them.) And if I was never able to download music I probably never would have found all these artists (which led me to buy a couple of albums).

Fuck a lot of these artists complaining though. Everyone has to work for a living but not everybody gets a job where you can do something you love, get lots of financial opportunities (ie. touring, clothing line), fame, free 'gifts', loads of downtime etc. If most of these fuckheads were financially responsible and didn't spend their money like it grew on trees they could retire a couple of decades before the average person. Boo-hoo I can only buy 5 new cars this year, instead of 20.
(Of course this is speaking in general and on major artists)

Also maybe the record labels can stop being greedy fucks and pay their artists properly.

And more effort can be put into the packaging. When you buy a vinyl you feel like it's actually worth something, especially if it has some amazing cover art of extra pictures. Now you get a piece of plastic with a shitty booklet and a disc inside. Like Casey pointed out, it's just become mass production instead of an artistic expression. Fuck buying a CD so some cunt who doesn't care about putting out a good product can live like a king. If I respect the artist as a person and I feel my money is going to a person that deserves it, I'll be more inclined to buy an album.

 

[Synful*Luv]

what you just said makes a lot of sense. however that exact reason, the fact that record labels are just putting out the same cookie-cutter artists and music, is the reason why illegal downloading has gotten so big. there are a lot of people out there who just want free shit, and don't think they should have to pay for it, which is ridiculous. your example of a builder building a house for free is a little extreme due to the disparity in costs between the 2, but a better example would be this: you wouldn't go into a Burger King and expect to get food for free, woud you?

but there are a lot of people who just don't wanna pay the insane prices of music these days, especially when everything out there sounds like everything else. creativity in music is dying slowly. there is one thing the RIAA doesn't take into account when they shut these sites down tho: the majority of people i speak to thaty download also buy albums if they dl something they like. so by taking away the file sharing they are eliminating a lot of sales as well.

Thats actually a really good point. I purchased the Killer's new CD based off two of their songs I downloaded from a file sharing site. I also illegally downloaded A.Keys "no one" and still purchased her album.

 

[Casey]

I understand about the cookie cutter thing. It's a horrible Catch 22.

But you don't need to support the artists that MTV/Viacom/etc push. Find lesser known artists you like. Go out and buy their albums, hell download them off iTunes, but pay for them in some way. Buy a ticket to their show if they play near you.

And I also agree with the premise of buying the good albums. Definately, definately support the artists that have put in the hard work to make quality material!!

 

[S O F I]

It's hard to buy music when I can't find good music to buy nowadays.

Also, I'll stay downloading till the day I die. FUCK YOU! SUCK MY FUCKING DICK!

 

[Prize Gotti]

I don't download much music, and when I do download music, I have either contributed to that artists bank balance, I used to own the track on a CD that I lost/scratched or its just one track that isn't worth buying a whole album for.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Good post Chronic.

I hope Boxden doesnt get shut down...

 

[ARon]

The problem with albumbase, Oink and some others is the country they were being ran out of, it was illegal there. Albumbase for example was started in the uk then bought by someone in seattle and of course shit is illegal in our respective countries. If all goes right piratebay will be untouchable cus they are still tryin to get neccessary funds together to get servers on an old oil rig platform in the middle of the ocean where they can do whatever. I kind of feel sorry but then laugh at everyone who thought Oink was high and mighty. First off it wasnt as special as people made it out to be, members were dicks, and there newest shit was usually late. My advice would be to get with a group, the people who actually upload and leak the albums to the net and live off of that, talk about a secret society. Some of them are on irc and some have sites.

 

[linx]

I'd be heated if the site I download from gets taken down. Seriously. I can understand what the artist might have to say, but fucckkkk. You find ALOT of dope shit out there when downloading. You won't find all that in stores. Helllll no.