Paying for movies/music - am I a fool?

dulpit

Yesterday at work we got talking about movies and music and how people get theirs. I mentioned that I pay for Spotify, Netflix and sky movies, and was told I was a fool, I should be using the likes of YouTube, mp3 converters and movie streaming/downloading apps.

My opinion is twofold:
1. Going the legal route is a much more streamlined and user friendly approach.
2. If nobody went the legal route then who would actually fund the music and movies?

Am I alone here? Am I the fool for paying? Or do others agree with me that paying for stuff is actually a normal thing to do?

Herb Powell

Nah, you're sound.


Everyone on the internet wants **** for free.

Winterlong

If all movies and music were made without funding they would mostly be pretty ****.

Badly Drunk Boy

Herb Powell wrote: »

Nah, you're sound.


Everyone on the internet wants **** for free.

Yeah, and they are so unbearably smug towards people who actually buy products.

Paying for Spotify.. maybe.

keith16

Both. I use spotify premium and netflix. Can't be wasting time dealing with mp3 youtube rippers and the like.

However, I am also happy to torrent content I can't find on these paid for services.

In any case, I stopped buying DVDs and CDs and the like years ago.

MayoSalmon

I pay for Netflix and Spotify...use Showbox/popcorn time for movies and sometimes I frequent the cinema in the early afternoon.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

I only pirate or stream stuff I'd never actually pay cash for anyway. I still go to the cinema once or twice a week and buy my music. I've lost count of the amount of rubbish albums I've bought through the years before listening to them. Now i pirate them and if they're good enough I purchase through iTunes just for convienience. Illegaly stream most TV shows though...

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Meh I still buy CDs for listening to in the car.
I pay for Spotify Netflix and Sky movies as well. Suits me because I'm not at all technical, and the one movie I've ever downloaded took me pretty much a whole day following simple instructions from a friend well versed in downloading.

For me though, it's more trouble than it's worth. I like being able to go home in the evenings, sticking on movies or Netflix on the tv and it being free from all complications.

_Brian

We do both regarding tv content. Netflix
Sub but we also use showbox. Torrent some stuff but not too much. Don't have sky, use freesat box.

Winterlong

I would have no bother dodgy downloading a tv series that I had missed or an old movie. But would not be doing it for a new movie.
The only exception to this is Game of Thrones. But that's ok- right? Right?

KungPao

Have Netflix, but it's a bit ****e in all honesty, but still handy and very cheap.
Don't have any tv sub, freesat all the way.

I stream football, but it's no loss to the stations as I'd never pay anyway, even if streams didn't exist...not that much into it.

Torrent some films n albums, usually stuff I've bought anyway at some stage, either on vhs or DVD or CD. Sometimes torrent something even if the DVD is right there in my room, just easier sometimes.

Also torrent some stuff that I wouldn't be caught dead buying...ahem.

KungPao

KungPao wrote: »

Have Netflix, but it's a bit ****e in all honesty, but still handy and very cheap.
Don't have any tv sub, freesat all the way.

I stream football, but it's no loss to the stations as I'd never pay anyway, even if streams didn't exist...not that much into it.

Torrent some films n albums, usually stuff I've bought anyway at some stage, either on vhs or DVD or CD. Sometimes torrent something even if the DVD is right there in my room, just easier sometimes.

Also torrent some stuff that I wouldn't be caught dead buying...ahem.

Do you watch any of Netflix's original content?

For me, Stranger Things, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Bloodlines, Sense8, BoJack Horesman, and more that I can't think of right now, more than make up the cost of their subscription fee.

dulpit

Deleted User wrote: »

For me, Stranger Things, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Bloodlines, Sense8, BoJack Horesman, and more that I can't think of right now, more than make up the cost of their subscription fee.

Orange is the new black and House of Cards too...

lawlolawl

keith16 wrote: »

Both. I use spotify premium and netflix. Can't be wasting time dealing with mp3 youtube rippers and the like.

However, I am also happy to torrent content I can't find on these paid for services.

In any case, I stopped buying DVDs and CDs and the like years ago.

I do the exact same as you. I'm glad to pay for Netflix and Spotify because they are good services that are worth the money. Netflix used to be better when you could switch regions but it is still really good and the original programming is fantastic. Currently watching Stranger Things and it's fantastic.

I can just throw in a search for a genre, mood or era in Spotify and have a great playlist on in the background for hours.

I'll pirate things that I can't get legitimately. I'd gladly pay for Amazons steaming things/Hulu./etc if they were available though. I don't really download new movies because the quality is invariably cack and it ruins the experience.

Used to pirate PC games when I first got a broadband connection but general shonkiness, viruses and messing about with cracks got annoying and Steam made everything cheap and easy so I went legit after a short while.

lawlolawl

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Do you watch any of Netflix's original content?

For me, Stranger Things, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Bloodlines, Sense8, BoJack Horesman, and more that I can't think of right now, more than make up the cost of their subscription fee.

You forgot Orphan Black. That show is ridiculously good.

lawlolawl

lawlolawl wrote: »

You forgot Orphan Black. That show is ridiculously good.

I believe that Orphan Black isn't their own creation and was made for another network, but I have heard excellent things about it. Really have to check it out.

lawlolawl

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I believe that Orphan Black isn't their own creation and was made for another network, but I have heard excellent things about it. Really have to check it out.

Think it was BBC America and Netflix for the latest season at least.

That's another good thing that Netflix does that keeps me paying. They "rescue" low-ratings stuff that is quality that has a niche market. Network TV seems to want to just churn out procedurals and reality TV and pretty much accidentally produces good shows occasionally.

Black Mirror and Mystery Science Theater, for instance, are coming back on Netflix.

Achasanai

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you watch any of Netflix's original content?

For me, Stranger Things, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Bloodlines, Sense8, BoJack Horesman, and more that I can't think of right now, more than make up the cost of their subscription fee.

There are some great films that I have missed over the years, as well as some really enjoyable classics on it too. Throw in a pretty interesting selection of documentaries, and I find myself nearly exclusively watching Netflix lately. For nearly everything else, I get it (free and legal) from the local library.

Having said that, I will download some tv series, and tend to torrent whatever music I want. If I like it, I will buy it at some point. If I don't, I delete it.

Cienciano

Sky movies is terrible. Still no good way of getting movies legally. Netflix is great for tv shows, kids stuff and documentaries. Terrible for movies.

lawlolawl

lawlolawl wrote: »

Think it was BBC America and Netflix for the latest season at least.

That's another good thing that Netflix does that keeps me paying. They "rescue" low-ratings stuff that is quality that has a niche market. Network TV seems to want to just churn out procedurals and reality TV and pretty much accidentally produces good shows occasionally.

Black Mirror and Mystery Science Theater, for instance, are coming back on Netflix.

Oh that's interesting. They did the same for Arrested Development, but sadly it wasn't anywhere near as good.

They seem to have gotten a lot better at recognizing better content to bring back.

YouTube rippers?! The effort required to rip one song and put it on your device. The quality is usually terrible. It's them that are the fools.

But I wonder how the likes of HBO survive with customers like me out there. I haven't paid for TV or film in about a decade and am showing no signs of changing. I prefer to have a high quality download rather than any streaming service.

fits

I pay for Netflix. Just cancelled Spotify as it stopped working on my windows phone. I also pay for media subscriptions cos I think its important to support good journalism.

lawlolawl

lawlolawl wrote: »

I do the exact same as you. I'm glad to pay for Netflix and Spotify because they are good services that are worth the money. Netflix used to be better when you could switch regions but it is still really good and the original programming is fantastic. Currently watching Stranger Things and it's fantastic.

I can just throw in a search for a genre, mood or era in Spotify and have a great playlist on in the background for hours.

I'll pirate things that I can't get legitimately. I'd gladly pay for Amazons steaming things/Hulu./etc if they were available though. I don't really download new movies because the quality is invariably cack and it ruins the experience.

Used to pirate PC games when I first got a broadband connection but general shonkiness, viruses and messing about with cracks got annoying and Steam made everything cheap and easy so I went legit after a short while.

Love stranger things.

rogercross

For TV these days most of what I watch is on legit catch-up or paid streaming services bar maybe 2 shows which I still need showbox for.

Movies mostly are torrents with the exception of the odd thing here or there, I just can't stand the cinema anymore, overpriced and full of noisy phone checking people.

Music, complete mix of youtube, torrents and spotify.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Dodge

Deleted User wrote: »

But I wonder how the likes of HBO survive with customers like me out there. I haven't paid for TV or film in about a decade and am showing no signs of changing. I prefer to have a high quality download rather than any streaming service.

They don't survive with customers like you. They survive with other customers. For all the talk on here, the vast, vast, vast majority of people in Ireland still pay for satellite/cable TV.

It's even more applicable in the US. In your example, HBO survives because some people need to see Game of Thrones (etc etc) as soon as it's available. They don't really care that some dude in Ireland is happy to download it a few hours later.

The "unlimited/non-contract" models of netflix and spotify have absolutely changed how many people think about paying for stuff online.

Agricola

I hate paying for Sky because much of it is shatto, but it handy for recording stuff and watching when you want, without ads.
Scary to think something like Game of Thrones wouldn't get renewed every year if people just gave up watching it on TV and decided to download it.

jester77

dulpit wrote: »

Yesterday at work we got talking about movies and music and how people get theirs. I mentioned that I pay for Spotify, Netflix and sky movies, and was told I was a fool, I should be using the likes of YouTube, mp3 converters and movie streaming/downloading apps.

My opinion is twofold:
1. Going the legal route is a much more streamlined and user friendly approach.
2. If nobody went the legal route then who would actually fund the music and movies?

Am I alone here? Am I the fool for paying? Or do others agree with me that paying for stuff is actually a normal thing to do?

I pay for Prime, Netflix, Google music and Sky. While Google music provides me with 95% of my musical wants, the same can't be said for TV & movies. The rest combined wouldn't cover 50% of what I want to watch, yet there is no legal alternative Movies are not so bad, I get to see most at festivals and the cinema, but TV shows are a bit of a disaster.

As for streamlined and friendly, the illegal route is so far ahead of what the legal products provide that I am not surprised that so many people go down this route. The industry really need to wake up and get with the times and get rid of these artificial regional boundaries that were created of out of just pure greed.

Your Face

I buy CDs because I like doing that.

murpho999

I pay for Apple Music as I think artists deserve music that I enjoy again and again. It also works very well across my devices. Especially on iOS10 that I have the beta of.

Also, have Netflix and think it's great. Don't get the complaints about it. It's cheap, has great original content and there are some great films on it. However, most people seem to judge on being big Hollywood blockbuster releases but that does not mean they are good.

I used to have Sky Movies, but it's expensive and they repeat so much content. If I want a big movie then I will torrent it, it's very easy.

I don't but DVDs or CDs, all electronic media for me as its so convenient but I refuse to pay €15 -20 for something I would only watch once.

I use Apple TV, mostly for watching Netflix. I can't remember the last time I watched regular TV at home, and have no cable TV subscription.

I pay for Spotify because it's €10 per month for unlimited music. I used to have the free version but the inability to select your next track for the sake of a fiver (introduction price) was unjustifiable.

If someone is in a very precarious financial position, I see absolutely nothing wrong with using pirate downloads. You have enough shit to be worried about in life, without burdening yourself with unnecessary moral dilemmas.

If you can afford the few quid, you really should pay for it.

Dodge

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

If someone is in a very precarious financial position, I see absolutely nothing wrong with using pirate downloads. You have enough shit to be worried about in life, without burdening yourself with unnecessary moral dilemmas.

If it was that precarious they should get rid of their broadband too...

Umekichi

I used to pirate pretty much anything and everything from movies to games and even books.
Since I started using netflix and filmon, I only pirate tv shows that aren't available on those sites. I pirate the occasional movie but not as much since my local cinema has deals for going midweek.
Music, I still kinda pirate(mainly because I use a youtube streamer to play my music). I tried spotify but I didn't care for it.
My game piracy has been reduced to 0 because of the likes of gog.com and steam, while I could torrent a game for free I'd have to be messing with cracks etc while at least with steam and gog.com I can usually buy the game pretty cheaply.
I think the main thing I still pirate is books, but I usually try to purchase them if I find that the book is good.

Dodge

Dodge wrote: »

If it was that precarious they should get rid of their broadband too...

That statement doesn't make sense. Having enough money to pay for the basics doesn't mean you have to cut out the basics.

Amirani

MP3 rippers from YouTube are absolute garbage.

10000maniacs

I still buy CD music. But only if they are collectable. All CDs pressed in the early 80s are very collectable and valuable.
People pay up to four figures (not kidding) for Early 80's Japanese pressed CDs.

Dodge

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

That statement doesn't make sense. Having enough money to pay for the basics doesn't mean you have to cut out the basics.

You consider broadband a basic. Others mightn't. That's all I'm saying

Your argument was that if someone can't pay for cable tv/spotify etc because they're in a "precarious" financial situation, you're OK with them streaming

I don't consider someone having the ability to pay for broadband as having a precarious financial situation

No moral judgement from me

Dodge

Dodge wrote: »

You consider broadband a basic. Others mightn't. That's all I'm saying

Your argument was that if someone can't pay for cable tv/spotify etc because they're in a "precarious" financial situation, you're OK with them streaming

I don't consider someone having the ability to pay for broadband as having a precarious financial situation

Ok you don't consider it a basic utility, but if a person cannot afford Netflix after paying their share for broadband, I think they have enough difficulties without being made feel bad about it.

I have colleagues who download entire TV series in work, to watch at home. Like almost all workers, they can afford Netflix, but just won't pay for it. That's going over the top, and I think that's a behaviour that should be discouraged because of the harm it causes to the film industry.

But if some young guy or girl is on the dole and just can't afford these subscriptions, I personally wouldn't have the slightest criticism of their use of free streaming services. It's not like they'd otherwise be in a position to buy it.

Dodge

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Ok you don't consider it a basic utility, but if a person cannot afford Netflix after paying their share for broadband, I think they have enough difficulties without being made feel bad about it.

That's your moral code. I don't care either way

But if some young guy or girl is on the dole and just can't afford these subscriptions, I personally wouldn't have the slightest criticism of their use of free streaming services. It's not like they'd otherwise be in a position to buy it.

There's no difference between someone poor and someone rich "stealing" media content. This isn't food or shelter.

I download the odd time but I don't need to try and justify it on the grounds of "well I couldn't afford it, so I thought it'd be OK not to pay"

I just don't pay, and live with it

Dodge

Dodge wrote: »

I just don't pay, and live with it

Okay. I don't care. I gave my opinion in general.

theteal

Would you steal a car????

KungPao

I bought an LP today. Going back to the old way, fed up with digital music...it just has no soul, maaaan.

It's great to have a physical album with the sleeve n all. iTunes is a rip off, what is it, around 10 big ones for an album of ****ty MP3s or whatever files Apple use? Go on outta dat.

dulpit

Dodge wrote: »

If it was that precarious they should get rid of their broadband too...

Should they also get rid of their electricity? Broadband is a staple now, same as heating and electricity. Obviously if money is tight don't go running out to buy the highest package with all the bells and whistles, but you should have some amount of BB in your house.

Burial.

theteal wrote: »

Would you steal a car????

If you could get away with it, then everyone would be stealing cars. The fact is getting away with stealing a car is pretty hard, next to impossible for the average person. However torrenting an album or a TV series is as easy as driving your car to the shop and buying the exact same thing, in fact bootlegging is much easier.

Dodge

dulpit wrote: »

Should they also get rid of their electricity? Broadband is a staple now, same as heating and electricity. Obviously if money is tight don't go running out to buy the highest package with all the bells and whistles, but you should have some amount of BB in your house.

This really isn't the topic to discuss it, but €20 top up of a mobile gets most people all the internet they need so no, broadband isn't completely necessary

Unlike electricity and heating in your example above.

(and again, I'm not making any judgments on anyone)

Gbear

Digital media is worthless.

Whether you want to spend money on these services is whether you believe in being a patron to the artists they indirectly support.

Sooner or later music, film and so on is going to have to shift away from selling items and move towards patronage or selling services.
Cultural momentum of still considering abstract data to be a tangible object because that's the way it used to be is making this a slower process than it should be.

The cinema is still unique for all but multi-millionaires, gigs are a very different experience to just listening to music and there are good services where you can directly support artists like band camp.

There is no place in the market for a large swathe of parasites involved in distributing digital media. Only interference from the state is keeping them afloat.

miezekatze

My OH and I share a Netflix and a Spotify account, happy to pay for these and I really can't be bothered with illegal downloads. For games I use steam. I don't expect other people to work for free, and that's basically the attitude of people who download everything illegally.

VinLieger

The problem with the legal route like Netflix is their Irish catalogue for movies is still garbage and generally 1-2 years behind the US for tv seasons.

I still pay for Netflix but theres many a show or movie i simply cannot stream legally so i resort to free sites as there is no other option to view what I want to when I want.

Arghus

OP, I wouldn't feel bad about paying for your entertainment. I wouldn't listen to people who scoff at you for it either. There's a long term problem for all cultural industries, for providers and users, as long as the present system of widespread non payment continues. Don't expect quality to be going up.

That said, I'm not a totally up-standing citizen in this regard: I download plenty. But, I also pay for plenty. I'll always make the effort to go see a film if it's playing. I think people who say watching a film on the tv or on their laptops is the same, even better, are prize idiots, basically. The cinema is far more immersive and I can really get into a film in those surroundings, wheras at home I'm unfortunately likely to be looking at my phone 20% of the time. Aside from that I have a Netflix subscription, which is okay. Netflix has more content than you might be led to believe just by listening to people here, but if you want to watch a specific film you can find yourself frustrated a lot of the time. I'll often use google play if I can't get a movie through those other options. But if I have exhausted all other avenues and I still can't find a way to to watch a film, then I will turn to the internet for help.

As regards music: I love buying music, I always have. Sadly though all music stores in my area have closed over the last two years. For me, walking into a bricks and mortar store and going for a browse was a key part of the experience. I still buy music, and have a Spotify subscription, but it's not with the same frequency - Amazon just isn't the same. Maybe I'm mad, but I think music used to mean more to people when they had to seek it out and physically purchase it. And while it's great that the proliferation of broadband and streaming services has opened up the sheer amount of music that's available to people, I feel that it's come at a cost of how much it matters to the people who consume it.