downloading music for free! whats your opinion?

[trademaster]

This trend has been ongoing since 1999, so if your concerns about crap music aren't already realized then they will never happen. The way I see it the huge artists make so much money from live shows I don't really care about lining their pockets with a single song purchase. For smaller artists I try to make a point of purchasing the music legally. Unfortunately sometimes it can be hard to find legitimate outlets for some harder to find music.

Before anyone argues that the big artists don't make that much from live tours, consider the fact that Metallica, one of the most vocal groups about pirated music, has generated over $210,000,000 in revenue from one two-year-long tour. Of course that all doesn't go to them, but that is an astronomical number. James Hetfield alone is worth over $170,000,000, but is concerned with illegal downloads! Consider the fact that the members of Metallica have a combined net worth rivaling that of Martin Cooper, the creator of the first cellular phone. Does anyone really believe that Metallica has contributed to our society as Martin Cooper has? Pffffttt.

The music industry is bloated and glutenous. The compensation will drop to more reasonable and justifiable levels as the market demands. If the songs I wanted were $0.10 a piece rather than $0.99 I would probably not bother looking for free downloads, but as long as I can get a cheeseburger at McDonald's for the price of 2MB of data I will listen to for a total of maybe 10-15 minutes in my life, I am not compelled to always pay.

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

The cost to make those live performances, at the venues the fans have become accustomed to, with the way the fans have come to expect the production of those performances, is very high.

So what's that mean? Higher ticket prices. Fans won't pay 500 bucks for a regular seat. The recording aspect makes no money. What's the outlook? A vibrant music industry?

Profit margins are still huge. Some of the bigger venues can generate millions of dollars in revenue in just one night.

I remember years back U2 donated profits from special VIP tickets on one of their tours and it was in the $10,000,000+ range. Remember that is profits only from a specific section. I don't remember the exact figures, but I know for sure it was over $10m and it was a very small portion of ticket sales.

[GroundPilot]

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

So Frank Sinatra didn't make a lot of money off record sales in the 1950s? Elvis Presley didn't make a lot of money off a record sales in the same time?

The cost to make those live performances, at the venues the fans have become accustomed to, with the way the fans have come to expect the production of those performances, is very high.

So what's that mean? Higher ticket prices. Fans won't pay 500 bucks for a regular seat. The recording aspect makes no money. What's the outlook? A vibrant music industry?

I should have been clearer...modern times as in post-recording capability.

I do not need so super-mega concert setup. A good venue with good acoustics is fine by me. I am there for the music, not a show.

[punkindave]

Do anything you want and justify it any way you wish..
It's theft plain and simple. I know a lot of small artists that rely on royalties from past work to make ends meet (not a living, but still enough to make a difference)
Fact is that you're taking money out of the pockets of those who worked for it. That's the goobermints job..

[PHXLT1]

I just think of all the crap music out there and how it will only get worse. If you really think that bands make too much money then think of it this way. The same way mcdonalds make soooo much money is simple. People like their boogers more than they like others. The bands doing well do it the same way. The better the music the more people will buy it and tickets. These bands are out there all the time earning the money thru good music. The are not like some CEO sitting in an office. They are out there. There is not one of us who wish we could do something we love and make a great living doing it.

[KCCO]

I 'usually' just download it. They want to rap/sing about how much money they have, they clearly don't need mine.

[JaniMaks]

Catch the guy who uploaded it, i am innocent i just clicked where it said download now.

I am an IT guy and i believe in open source and i believe if its available on the net its fair game.

Having said that there are techniques like "Safe Audio" which introduces surface or nano errors, that only physical drives can correct while playing. Copying the media to lets say the hard-drive from the CD, and you will get corrupted data that can't be played, so uploading/sharing is useless thats killing the source. Thats just one technique, i am sure their are others.

[CamaroSkooter]

Hey, who remembers seeing this little icon on records?