How do you feel about downloading music?

Jesus Juice

So how do you feel about downloading music without paying?
Do you think it is a bad thing or do you agree with it?

Obviously its illegal so no actual admittance please!

li@mo

Jesus Juice wrote: »

So how do you feel about downloading music?
Do you think it is a bad thing or do you agree with it?

Obviously its illegal so no actual admittance please!

You might want to add.....without paying........to your above post

Jesus Juice

li@mo wrote: »

You might want to add.....without paying........to your above post

Noted!:D

Insect Overlord

Have never done it, despite having the technology, the free time, the interest in music, etc.

I'm just too lazy to do it. I have no moral view on "illegal downloading" whatsoever.

norwegianwood

i'm too poor to afford morals tbh....:pac:

klonere

It depends really. I've been buying a lot of CDs off play.com recently. Trust me, if your passionate about your music, you'll appreciate the physical item in your hand, with the booklet and all. For some bands, like Porcupine Tree, a good stereo system and a CD is needed to truly get the full flavor of the album.
I do mix it around with legal downloading on 7digital.com, which is an excellent site, very cheap and usually the highest quality (320kbps) is available.
However I have torrent'd a few bands, to see if I like them. But I slowly replace the illegal copies with CDs or legal downloads. Recently I got the Meshuggah discography off torrent and have just ordered Catch 33 from play.com.
I think the record industry really missed the boat, and I ain't one of those (as the infamous comment on the Pirate Bay sentencing Youtube goes) 'They want us to pay for ****...no one wants to pay money for **** no more'. But fighting it was a bad idea as it only reinforces the image of the 'corporate monster'. A combo of free downloads, cheaper CDs and downloads should probably do the trick.

Although if they don't act fast, the money will dry up from records as more and more flock to torrents.....

Fad

Its my primary way of getting music and while I dont think what I'm doing is entirely fair to the artist, I'd imagine most of them would prefer that I listen to their music without paying for rather then not listen to it at all.

I'd like to make it clear that I LOVE buying CDs, but I really dont have the money (There was a time where I spent all my money on CDs *looks at 150 or so on my shelf* but now I just dont have the money considering the amount that I listen to).

I'd much prefer to support the artist in a direct way, ie going to a gig, buying a tshirt from them, that's what pays the rent, not the piddly royalties they get.

Stev_o

Fad wrote: »

Its my primary way of getting music and while I dont think what I'm doing is entirely fair to the artist, I'd imagine most of them would prefer that I listen to their music without paying for rather then not listen to it at all.

I'd like to make it clear that I LOVE buying CDs, but I really dont have the money (There was a time where I spent all my money on CDs *looks at 150 or so on my shelf* but now I just dont have the money considering the amount that I listen to).

I'd much prefer to support the artist in a direct way, ie going to a gig, buying a tshirt from them, that's what pays the rent, not the piddly royalties they get.

Artists don't make most of their money through CD sales that would be the label, they'd mostly make their money through touring. If torrent enables a much larger audience for to listen to your music and thus enables you to sell out a venue when you tour then it would be worth it. Still the arugment will always be that 20 quid for a CD that could be poor and having to pay in excess of 80 quid for concert tickets is just way overpriced.

punk_one82

Personally I find that illegal downloading of music is a gateway to music that would otherwise go unheard. For example, if I heard a certain artist being mentioned, I wouldn't go out and buy an album to check them out in fear of wasting the small amount of money that I have, but I would consider downloading an album. Then if I like what I hear, I'll have absolutely no problem going out and spending my money on their entire discography, including the downloaded album and then going out and spending a fortune on tickets to see them live. I love having a physical copy of a record and the wee booklet etc. On the subject of morals, I feel that no one should get all their music illegally from the internet. It's not fair to the artist. I couldn't give a **** about the record labels, but however small the royalties the artist get, I still don't feel that they should be cheated out of them. It is their music after all.

Fad

Stev_o wrote: »

Artists don't make most of their money through CD sales that would be the label, they'd mostly make their money through touring. If torrent enables a much larger audience for to listen to your music and thus enables you to sell out a venue when you tour then it would be worth it. Still the arugment will always be that 20 quid for a CD that could be poor and having to pay in excess of 80 quid for concert tickets is just way overpriced.

Really dont go to many big gigs, so extortionate ticket price isnt a huge issue.

cautioner

I download stuff occasionally, but I'll always prefer buying CDs. For example, IF I had illegally downloaded, say, I don't know, 10 or so tracks from, oh, Frightened Rabbit's album The Midnight Organ Fight (which is, hypothetically speaking, F*CKIN CLASS), I'd still want to buy the actual CD.

They're not horribly expensive nowadays anyway, most albums can be found for under a tenner or so on amazon.co.uk. I'd never dream of buying a CD in Ireland though.

Professey Chin

I download a bit but still regularly buy cds (finally hit the 300 mark) if I enjoy the band and I never turn down a good gig

Piste

I don't really care one way or another, I don't download music becausxe I can't figure out torrents and my laptop is slowly running out of space, also I don't want to get stung for downloading illegally (though I do use the neighbours wireless as it's better than ours). I get my warez (rarely music, mainly films and tv shows) from my boyfriend; I bring my harddrive to his house every so often and just say what I'd like (looking at his server is like being in a sweetshop). While I don't have a problem with illegal downloading I really hate the attitude that some people have, some people seem to think they have a God given right to free media and feel outraged that corporate bodies are attempting to prevent them from doing so.

Rozabeez

I honestly don't know how to do it, my older brother reckons I'll make the computer explode if I try....and I like cds.

Fad

Piste wrote: »

While I don't have a problem with illegal downloading I really hate the attitude that some people have, some people seem to think they have a God given right to free media and feel outraged that corporate bodies are attempting to prevent them from doing so.

I agree with you there, but I really think the IRMA and Eircom are really going about things the wrong way!

Mushy

Always prefer having the cd. Use youtube to get into bands if needs be, or myspace. Only stuff I download are rare songs by QotSA or Muse.

tatabubbly

I love the fact that you can download

It's fab plus as a student money simply isn't there to go buying things like cds...

Professey Chin

tatabubbly wrote: »

I love the fact that you can download

It's fab plus as a student money simply isn't there to go buying things like cds...

Ye always seem to have it for booze though:pac:
Feckin students

tatabubbly

I found a really cheap off-licence :P

But downloading is fun! I like the fact it's illegal!

challengemaster

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

conorlechance

definetly would go out and buy an irish acts album if i liked their music, most of the time another european singer/band i like and rarely would i buy an american album or cd.

the way i see it the americans have cultural domination so they have an advantage which acts don't have here in ireland/ europe on a grand scale, well for the most part.

the thing is though i just use my ipod now, and the effort of transferring music from cd to ipod is far greater than just downloading.

tatabubbly

challengemaster wrote: »

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

It's cos it's illegeal... it's that feeling you get when your doing something you know you shouldn't be doing but he he he it's funny

challengemaster

tatabubbly wrote: »

It's cos it's illegeal... it's that feeling you get when your doing something you know you shouldn't be doing but he he he it's funny

yup...I'm such a giant geek that downloading music from t'internets is how I get my kicks.

Great.:cool:

tatabubbly

challengemaster wrote: »

yup...I'm such a giant geek that downloading music from t'internets is how I get my kicks.

Great.:cool:

I didn't mean to offend! Sorry!!!

randylonghorn

challengemaster wrote: »

yup...I'm such a giant geek that downloading music from t'internets is how I get my kicks.

Great.:cool:

Music?!

You're using that as a code word, right?!

challengemaster

........no......

marko91

i always downlaod songs and albums free:pif i want it on cd ill just burn the songs onto cd....why pay?so i can have a case and a nice sticker on my cd?...no thanks:P

gman2k

Back in the 'day', we used to have double tape decks, and blank tapes was where it was at. You'd rarely see anyone carrying around original cassettes.
Nothing has changed. (Only you don't have to wait till your mate next door gets the album now)
Don't really want stacks of cds taking up space/ gathering dust on a shelf in the gaff now, so forget about cases/ booklets etc etc.
I've never used torrents or itunes, just other means....

I feel damn good about downloading music: I haven't bought a CD (or a DVD for that matter) in over four years. It's a no-brainer for me: Why purchase music when it's freely available? I know, you could take the moral high-ground and say that you're supporting the artists and what not; but, they can support themselves. Long live music downloads.

marko91

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

I feel damn good about downloading music: I haven't bought a CD (or a DVD for that matter) in over four years. It's a no-brainer for me: Why purchase music when it's freely available? I know, you could take the moral high-ground and say that you're supporting the artists and what not; but, they can support themselves. Long live music downloads.

couldnt have put it better myseld:p although when i get my HDTV ill buy blurays for my ps3 cos it would take TOOOOOOOOOOOOO long to download blurays and the transfer them to ps3

Fighting Irish

I couldn't care less

Dear Mr Internet,
Thank you very much for free music, movies and games.
FI.

antomorro-sei

Love it.

KnifeWRENCH

I've never downloaded music. Partly because I'm not exactly sure how to, but mostly because I love wandering around music stores buying CDs. I much prefer having an actual CD complete with case and booklet than a load of songs on a computer. I've a pretty big number of CDs now and in 20 years time I hope to amass a ridiculously huge collection!

As for the whole moral issue about downloading, *shrug* I really don't care either way.

JC 2K3

klonere wrote: »

It depends really. I've been buying a lot of CDs off play.com recently. Trust me, if your passionate about your music, you'll appreciate the physical item in your hand, with the booklet and all. For some bands, like Porcupine Tree, a good stereo system and a CD is needed to truly get the full flavor of the album.

Wrong. Way to generalise.

I'm passionately into music and I never buy CDs. CDs annoy me. They're a redundant technology. They clutter your shelves. They get scratched. They're crap.

No you do not need a CD or a good stereo system to "truly get the full flavor of [an] album". I listen to my music on high quality speakers connected to a high quality soundcard in my PC. I download FLACs or high quality VBR MP3s of albums which require perfect quality and they sound as good as any CD.

I find my stance to be unpopular amongst music fans, and I think its sad. I believe that many music fans associate a materialistic thrill of buying a physical item, i.e. a CD, with the music itself, which I think is wrong. For me, music is entirely about music.

I don't have many ethical issues with downloading, because without going into too much detail, major labels are cúnts who refuse to adapt to changing times and changing technology.

Jonathan

JC 2K3 wrote: »

No you do not need a CD or a good stereo system to "truly get the full flavor of [an] album". I listen to my music on high quality speakers connected to a high quality soundcard in my PC. I download FLACs or high quality VBR MP3s of albums which require perfect quality and they sound as good as any CD.

I find FLACs are a bit too big for my liking. I will generally look for V0 or if only the FLAC is available, I'll download it, convert it to V0 and then toss out the FLAC.

320kbps CBR is also rather wasteful IMHO.



On topic:

Downloading music is great.

like clockwork!

I love it. Can't see anything morally wrong with downloading it to be honest!!

Diabhal Beag

I have 90,000 songs on my ipod. I can't imagine ''spending'' that much money on music cds tbh

p1akuw47h5r3it

Jesus what gigabite is your ipod?

Lia_lia

I download all my music. Don't see any problem with it. Mainly because my Dad works in the music industry so I've always known how little the artists themselves actually get from CD sales. So no guilty feelings!

It is nice to get a CD though. Looking at the album art and all that. Plus you can really tell the difference in sound quality!

97i9y3941

JC 2K3 wrote: »

I'm passionately into music and I never buy CDs. CDs annoy me. They're a redundant technology. They clutter your shelves. They get scratched. They're crap.

No you do not need a CD or a good stereo system to "truly get the full flavor of [an] album". I listen to my music on high quality speakers connected to a high quality soundcard in my PC. I download FLACs or high quality VBR MP3s of albums which require perfect quality and they sound as good as any CD.

I find my stance to be unpopular amongst music fans, and I think its sad. I believe that many music fans associate a materialistic thrill of buying a physical item, i.e. a CD, with the music itself, which I think is wrong. For me, music is entirely about music.

I don't have many ethical issues with downloading, because without going into too much detail, major labels are cúnts who refuse to adapt to changing times and changing technology.

upside of cd's is some people cant look after their comp so they usually whinge about their comp getting a virus and loseing their downloads,so i would tell them to burn their stuff onto cd incase the worse happens.

JC 2K3

Lia_lia wrote: »

Plus you can really tell the difference in sound quality!

Benn dealt with earlier. You can't if you download good quality files.

Fad

Lia_lia wrote: »

It is nice to get a CD though. Looking at the album art and all that. Plus you can really tell the difference in sound quality!

JC has already dealt with this, but in short, if you dont know what you're at, yes, then you can hear the difference in quality, on the other hand, if you do, there is pretty much no difference!

I'll admit that I do like owning CDs, but at this stage I dont really buy many. On a practical level, if I was to own the CD of every album I have, I dont know where I'd sleep, my room would have towers of CDs everywhere. And of course the money side of it, I just dont have the money to buy the amount that I listen to.

If a local artist is selling a CD, I'd buy it, one, because a torrent generally isnt available and two, chances are they'd be getting more off this CD sale than an established artist.

I dont think that I have a right to free media, but with all things considered, I could be breaking laws that actually affect people, so I'm just not really bothered at the moment. I'd say once I have a job, I might start paying for music a lot more, but I'd say by then, the record companies will have copped on a little!

Jonathan

Lia_lia wrote: »

It is nice to get a CD though. Looking at the album art and all that. Plus you can really tell the difference in sound quality!

A FLAC file and a cue file can be used to create a bit for bit identical copy of the original cd.

Lia_lia

Oh yeah I know! Flac files take up an awful lot of space on the computer though. (get an external hard drive, Aoife!) And they download so slowly on this internet connection. Bah.

97i9y3941

use wma meself,sound is good as mp3,takes up less space.

Purple Gorilla

It depends... I mostly buy all my music off iTunes. If it's a song that I want then I'll buy it...if it's a song that I wouldn't really consider to be a must-have but I still would listen to it every-so-often, then I'll get it off Limewire. If I can't get the song off iTunes, then I'll get it off Limewire.

If I go to buy a song and it has DRM then I'll get it off Limewire instead. If Music companies feel like treating me like a criminal for music I buy, then I may aswell act like one and just illegally download it instead

Professey Chin

Youre a criminal for using Limewire :pac:
Christ what a piece of filth

phasers

I love downloading music, it lets me get free music. If you think FLAC files are big then you all must have tiny harddrives!

My DVD player is fabulous too because you can put all sorts of media into it and it'll play.

Although I tend to buy DVDs of shows I really like, at the moment my collection has 5 shows in it (Which is huge for me :pac:)

JC 2K3

Fred83 wrote: »

use wma meself,sound is good as mp3,takes up less space.

lol

Professey Chin

Fred83 wrote: »

use wma meself,sound is good as mp3,takes up less space.

thats..........thats just disgusting

ironictoaster

Have no problem with it. Music artists go around and say that concert tickets are expensive because they have to make up the potential profit they lost due to downloading music.

I think thats absolute bullsh*t, they would still charge the same amount if illegal downloading was stopped.