Music Industry Claim 95 Per Cent Of All Downloads Are Illegal

A three-year investigation into online music piracy has concluded that 95 percent of music downloads are illegal.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Digital Music Report 2009 estimates that 40 billion files were unlawfully shared online in 2008 alone.

The report states that the IFPI removed three billion links to such files in 2008, up from 500,000 in 2007.

John Kennedy, Chairman of the IFPI, called on governments worldwide to work alongside internet service providers (IPSs) to enforce better regulations prohibiting illegal downloading.

"Governments are beginning to accept that, in the debate over 'free content' and engaging ISPs in protecting intellectual property rights, doing nothing is not an option if there is to be a future for commercial digital content," he said.

In July 2008, the UK government negotiated a "Memorandum Of Understanding" between the six largest ISPs and the recording and film industries. The two groups were told to work together to reduce unauthorised file-sharing.

A 2008 report by Entertainment Media Research suggested that seven in ten (72 per-cent) UK music consumers would stop illegally downloading if their ISP told them to, while a similar number of French consumers (74 percent) say that internet account disconnection is a better way to solve the problem than fines and criminal sanctions.

Despite the negativity surround online piracy, the IFPI report states that the worldwide digital music business grew by 25 per-cent in 2008 - the sixth year in a row that it has increased. Digital platforms now take up around 20 percent of all recorded music sales.

Thanks for the report to Nme.com.

Comments

[Phe4rTheGod]

I think Amazon has the right idea...let people SAMPLE free music, and if you like it, buy it...it makes no sense to 'support' a band and steal from them or their labels...

Speaking of that, I turned down getting a copy of LOG's new album, I think it's gonna be worth the wait for it to come out...

[Lapidus]

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

[DarkLiquor]

this is why i always wanted a stereo and a shit load of CD's.

[imsimon]

Here comes a tonne of comments by people that illegally download pretending the have morals and saying they wouldn't ever download.

Ha./

[Magero]

The industry was way too behind on the entire idea. They had no clue and now they've lost it. People will always download music and if you talk to the artists, 90% of them couldn't give a shit. The only people who make money out of album sales are the labels. I like buying CDs because it feels better, but at the prices they are, with the lack of funds I know will go to the band, it's not worth it most of the time.

[FearBefore]

It took them 3 years to figure this out...?

[Rockon914]

i hope the music industry dies.

[insurgentsteve]

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

[euan_soad]

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

[Sid McCall]

I'm a music industry major and I'm studying this in many of my classes. I'm not going to go into it here, but very few readers get a good understanding of the business from these crap articles. There should be more articles on the things the industry is doing to make it easier for everyone to get what they deserve. There are a lot of forward thinking people in the industry, but that doesn't show through these crap articles. Now if you don't mind, I'm off to my history of indie record labels class. PM me for more info or to bitch at me.

[Chewy120]

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

hey!!!! i was going to say that

[SilverSpurs616]

Lapidus wrote:

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

The heck you talking about?

[theotherguy7145]

Rockon914 wrote:

i hope the music industry dies.

I think you'll die before that ever happens

[jakewynnrocks]

DarkLiquor wrote:

this is why i always wanted a stereo and a shit load of CD's.

thats what i have, its so much better than downloading. i never even buy off itunes....

[Conformist]

"Music Industry Complain 95 Per Cent Of All Downloads Are Illegal"
It's not far off...

[allthatfails]

Let them claim, good for them!

[Savage Animal]

It's not like I would've paid for CDs instead. If I couldn't download off of torrent sites, I just simply wouldn't get music.

[shotgunjoe]

do they think this will surprise people? anyone that knows anything about downloading will know that the vast majority of people are opposed to paying for downloadable music. people that do buy music will go for the phyical package.

[Mr Maggot]

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

[FearBefore]

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

[mtllica]

shotgunjoe wrote:

do they think this will surprise people? anyone that knows anything about downloading will know that the vast majority of people are opposed to paying for downloadable music. people that do buy music will go for the phyical package.

exactly. If I really like a CD or an artist I will go out and purchase the actual CD, I prefer to have a hard copy anyways, it feels more like it was worth the money instead of just getting it from Amazon...

[tushmeister]

a) The music industry is only correct because it never caught up with the new medium and took advantage of it (only now are they testing the waters with legal downloads to a proper extent)

b) The study probably became outdated in the time it took to complete, 3 years? In that time the entire scene has changed massively

[playinbass1432]

Lets all ****ing cry.

If a band/artist is good their albums will sell anyway. It's not half as bad as these ****ing labels are making it out to be.

[Conformist]

95% of statistics are made up. (Yes including that one)

[Jesstaa]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

[FearBefore]

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Merch sales and endorsements.
Have you seen the price of a tshirt compared to how much it costs to make?
This is about how much money they make through album sales, not how much they need for studio time.

[jcthomasva]

Jesstaa wrote:
So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Through sales of their songs via Guitar Hero.

[jamie_hough]

boring music is the reason for this - its the music industrys own fault, if it wasnt for all the mediocre music that noone cares about then people wouldnt download it - crappy music isnt worth buying. everyone buys the cd of their favourite bands though becasue they want to support them, and by enlarge peoples favourite bands happen to be above average in quality... ANSWER = STOP SUPPORTING SHIT MUSIC YOU MUSIC INDUSTRY DOUCHEBAGS - nuff said

[littleleo88]

The report states that the IFPI removed three billion links to such files in 2008, up from 500,000 in 2007.

so what they are saying is, that someone actually counts the difference between 3,000,000,000 and 2,999,500,000.
what a joke.

im pretty sure this claim is a load of rubbish though, call me a sucker, but i only ever download music legitimately, and im sure more than 5% of other people do. though it fuels record companies, it also gives us new music.

[Pookie6]

FearBefore wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Merch sales and endorsements.
Have you seen the price of a tshirt compared to how much it costs to make?
This is about how much money they make through album sales, not how much they need for studio time.

You're playing music for a living, wouldn't you want to get paid for what you're doing? How else would you make a living?

[Sleaze Disease]

I download illegally all the time.
I also buy records, cds, and cassette tapes.
Interesting, huh?

[hawk_kst]

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

Opposed to the straight homosexuals...

[FearBefore]

You're playing music for a living, wouldn't you want to get paid for what you're doing? How else would you make a living?

The same way that I just said, if you'd care to read it.

Through merch and endorsements.

[skaguitarist53]

Pookie6 wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Merch sales and endorsements.
Have you seen the price of a tshirt compared to how much it costs to make?
This is about how much money they make through album sales, not how much they need for studio time.

You're playing music for a living, wouldn't you want to get paid for what you're doing? How else would you make a living?

as a musician, the percentage of profit gained from touring is far greater than the percentage of profit derived from CD/Music sales through a label

[GS LEAD 5]

I download all the time. Which is why i bought several Iron Maiden discs. Cause I liked the songs. And don't forget-you may download a song which you won't necessarily buy if you had the choice between download and buying.

[GUMY]

Yet they are all still ritch... odd

[MegaRon]

insurgentsteve wrote:

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

It's illegally downloaded, that's what it is.

[GS LEAD 5]

Besides, the album pack represents part of the soul of the album. Who the heck wants their "Powerslave" or "Master of Puppets" represented by an image on a screen?????

[Starstorm]

Bands make money off of touring like skaguitarist53 said, and selling merchandise during touring. Bands usually get ripped off on album profits.

[GS LEAD 5]

GUMY :
Yet they are all still ritch... odd

There rich from the concerts.

[GS LEAD 5]

Starstorm :
Bands make money off of touring like skaguitarist53 said, and selling merchandise during touring. Bands usually get ripped off on album profits.

I fully agree. Didn't Maiden start an organizaation to combat this?

[Guitar-God-Elf]

Well if downloading illegally kills off a future of ONLY digital music - then surely its a good thing?

I'm pretty sure most people would prefer for artists to continue releasing music on CD's, or some sort of physical item.

[GS LEAD 5]

jesstaa: So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

I believe they get stinking rich from tours?

[playinbass1432]

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

As opposed to any other kind of homosexuals...

[tancanada]

The music industry is wrong then, because LimeWire is technecally legal. And thats all that anyone uses, unless you have a torrent.

[GS LEAD 5]

I'm pretty sure most people would prefer for artists to continue releasing music on CD's, or some sort of physical item.

I agree. Like I said, the album pack represents part of the soul of the album. Who the heck wants their "Rust in Peace" or "Cowboys from Hell" represented by an image on a screen?????

[GS LEAD 5]

Has everyone stopped commenting?

[SG6578]

What's funny is that the big label companies still have millions if not billions of dollars at hand. If you like a band enough you will still buy the CD. That being said I still think that prices from the music industry are the main concern. A dollar for a song, my people just accept this. $14-$18 for a album? To be honest this is why I illegally download all the time. If I bought all of my music I would owe about $1500. Artists will be just fine off of TV, live gigs, merch, and record contracts.

[Jesstaa]

GS LEAD 5 wrote:

jesstaa: So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

I believe they get stinking rich from tours?

But how do they get to the touring stage if they can't record an album to develop the fan base to buy tickets/have the money to transport a few tons of gear across the world?

[Jesstaa]

tancanada wrote:

The music industry is wrong then, because LimeWire is technecally legal. And thats all that anyone uses, unless you have a torrent.

The program = legal, using it to download music = illegal... -_-

[headbangerbuggy]

I don't people realize that Artists don't get paid based on album sales.
People like Randy Blithe of Lamb Of God don't even care if you download their music.

[Bartlett]

skaguitarist53 wrote:

Pookie6 wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Merch sales and endorsements.
Have you seen the price of a tshirt compared to how much it costs to make?
This is about how much money they make through album sales, not how much they need for studio time.

You're playing music for a living, wouldn't you want to get paid for what you're doing? How else would you make a living?

as a musician, the percentage of profit gained from touring is far greater than the percentage of profit derived from CD/Music sales through a label

i want to qoute this because it has been qouted loads so im joining in plus dont download illegallyy or however you spell it steal your freinds cds problem solved

[SG6578]

Jesstaa wrote:

GS LEAD 5 wrote:

jesstaa: So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

I believe they get stinking rich from tours?

But how do they get to the touring stage if they can't record an album to develop the fan base to buy tickets/have the money to transport a few tons of gear across the world?

You would still get a fanbase just by having your music out there. It appears that it's a big problem to you, I still go to gigs all the time, and I'm not worried about it. You need to watch the southpark episode where Metallica's Lars is depressed because he can't get his golden plated shark tank by his pool of his mansion because of downloading. I almost shed a tear.

[AStrangleHold]

Moo- That's the sound a cow makes. I'm sure someone could unearth the metaphor hidden deep inside that phrase that relates to the music industry?

[T.Rextacy]

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

[SG6578]

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

[Obie]

littleleo88 wrote:

The report states that the IFPI removed three billion links to such files in 2008, up from 500,000 in 2007.

so what they are saying is, that someone actually counts the difference between 3,000,000,000 and 2,999,500,000.
what a joke.

im pretty sure this claim is a load of rubbish though, call me a sucker, but i only ever download music legitimately, and im sure more than 5% of other people do. though it fuels record companies, it also gives us new music.

um no they actually went from 500,000 to 3,000,000,000. thats a bad thing

[atthedrive-thru]

GS LEAD 5 wrote:

Besides, the album pack represents part of the soul of the album. Who the heck wants their "Powerslave" or "Master of Puppets" represented by an image on a screen?????

as opposed to having an image on a piece of paper, hmm, ok

[Jesstaa]

SG6578 wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:

GS LEAD 5 wrote:

jesstaa: So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

I believe they get stinking rich from tours?

But how do they get to the touring stage if they can't record an album to develop the fan base to buy tickets/have the money to transport a few tons of gear across the world?

You would still get a fanbase just by having your music out there. It appears that it's a big problem to you, I still go to gigs all the time, and I'm not worried about it. You need to watch the southpark episode where Metallica's Lars is depressed because he can't get his golden plated shark tank by his pool of his mansion because of downloading. I almost shed a tear.

Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

[matsif]

as said above, bands make money off merchandise and gigs. cd's are overpriced...$20 for 13 songs? even the $1 for songs on itunes is bs as far as I'm concerned.

the economy sucks right now worldwide. so, lets have the government shut down it's citizens' internet service because they like music but can't afford the outrageous costs.

screw the record industry. make good music, and people will buy it more. it even says in the article you aholes still made money even with the "95% of downloads are illegal" garbage. so my question to the execs is, if you are still making profit (25% increase), why the hell do you care? american auto companies and banks are going out of business but you aholes think that you are getting shortchanged? in a time when most businesses are failing, you complain that you aren't pulling enough profit? stfu

[Phoenix_24Leas]

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

I think you're oversimplifying the situation...

[JS5150]

Someone needs to do a study on the percentage of music that is downloaded that the user would have bought if it wasn't available free. I think most people download things that they wouldn't buy, therefore not taking money from the industry. Besides most artists would rather get the exposure than the 2 cents they get for selling a cd.

[SG6578]

Do you know how much f*cking cash a band makes by touring? Like a decently big band for example, lets say Blink 182. A single gig made them $200,000-$375,000 in 2004. And you're telling me that they won't have enough money to tour. A band will only do an international tour if they're big anyway and thus they'll already have enough cash. Labels hold bands by the nuts and they still exist and they still make a f*ckton of money even with illegal downloading. Labels will make money off of merch and record deals NO MATTER WHAT.

[flxjhnlrssn]

Jesstaa wrote:
Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

You don't understand, do you? As it is right now, or even a couple of years ago, the band don't make much money n the albums, so why would it change if they released the albums for free. and that about the promoting, the band could probably do that alright by themselves.

[SteamMaster]

SG6578 wrote:

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

you would think so wouldnt you, terrorists dont just come from Afghanistan though... anywhere can have a terrorist, i could be a terrorist for all you know

[Phoenix_24Leas]

SteamMaster wrote:

SG6578 wrote:

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

you would think so wouldnt you, terrorists dont just come from Afghanistan though... anywhere can have a terrorist, i could be a terrorist for all you know

but you're not. end of discussion.

[Paul DB]

...this is what we're worried about? In a world where people are dying in the thousands in Gaza and the economy is going to potty, the government launches a three-year investigation on the state of the music industry?

[flxjhnlrssn]

SteamMaster wrote:

SG6578 wrote:

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

you would think so wouldnt you, terrorists dont just come from Afghanistan though... anywhere can have a terrorist, i could be a terrorist for all you know

haha, are you kinda paranoid or something?

[Jesstaa]

flxjhnlrssn wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:
Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

You don't understand, do you? As it is right now, or even a couple of years ago, the band don't make much money n the albums, so why would it change if they released the albums for free. and that about the promoting, the band could probably do that alright by themselves.

No, you don't understand, because even that small amount of money helps, and with that money, brings record companies, which give the bands loans to record albums, which cost a ****load to record. If music were free, record companies could not do this, bands could not record their albums in high quality, therefore not get a large fan base, therefore tours would be unsuccessful, and anyway, where do they get the money for the tour from, seriously...

[Kapalen]

Savage Animal wrote:

It's not like I would've paid for CDs instead. If I couldn't download off of torrent sites, I just simply wouldn't get music.

Then you don't ****ing deserve to listen tot he same music as people that pay for it. If all you listent o is midi ringtones then hurrah but when artists put money into making music it stands to reason they should get money for giving that music to the people.

It has nothing to do with profit, paying them to make the music facilitates the creation of new music.

If all music was free because people wanted to give the fans what they want, there would be no music, aside from people in your hometown playing in their backyard because instead of recording they'd be at the factory getting money to feed their kids.

[SG6578]

SteamMaster wrote:

SG6578 wrote:

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

you would think so wouldnt you, terrorists dont just come from Afghanistan though... anywhere can have a terrorist, i could be a terrorist for all you know

F*ck, well why didn't someone tell GW that before he left so he could bomb the sh*t out of Iran, North Korea, The Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil....ect?

[MCShammas]

If the song's not worth 99 cents to you, it's obviously not worth having at all. If you don't want to pay, just listen to the radio for Christ's sake.

[Phoenix_24Leas]

Paul DB wrote:

...this is what we're worried about? In a world where people are dying in the thousands in Gaza and the economy is going to potty, the government launches a three-year investigation on the state of the music industry?

Is it really that hard to imagine we are paying attention to something that relates to our lives than some distant land across the pond and over a couple mountain ranges? I'm not making light of the situation but people don't necessarily want to be thinking about death 24/7.

[Kapalen]

Jesstaa wrote:

flxjhnlrssn wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:
Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

You don't understand, do you? As it is right now, or even a couple of years ago, the band don't make much money n the albums, so why would it change if they released the albums for free. and that about the promoting, the band could probably do that alright by themselves.

No, you don't understand, because even that small amount of money helps, and with that money, brings record companies, which give the bands loans to record albums, which cost a ****load to record. If music were free, record companies could not do this, bands could not record their albums in high quality, therefore not get a large fan base, therefore tours would be unsuccessful, and anyway, where do they get the money for the tour from, seriously...

Flxjhival: IF the albums were free the label wouldn't give artists advacnes to support themselves while they make it, then they also wouldn't have any money tos end that band on tour.

By the way tons of bands make more on album sales than touring. The Beatles being the best example.

[Kapalen]

And I aint talking about cause they don't tour anymore, I mean to say that the Beatles didn't go on tour for like the second half of their career.

[SG6578]

MCShammas wrote:

If the song's not worth 99 cents to you, it's obviously not worth having at all. If you don't want to pay, just listen to the radio for Christ's sake.

You can spend thousands on music. I'll buy myself a new gibby and become an artist and won't give a f*ck if people download because I'll have enough money.

[flxjhnlrssn]

Jesstaa wrote:

flxjhnlrssn wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:
Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

You don't understand, do you? As it is right now, or even a couple of years ago, the band don't make much money n the albums, so why would it change if they released the albums for free. and that about the promoting, the band could probably do that alright by themselves.

No, you don't understand, because even that small amount of money helps, and with that money, brings record companies, which give the bands loans to record albums, which cost a ****load to record. If music were free, record companies could not do this, bands could not record their albums in high quality, therefore not get a large fan base, therefore tours would be unsuccessful, and anyway, where do they get the money for the tour from, seriously...

And all these artists with independent labels, how do they manage to survive? and I think the bands get their fanbase mainly by playing live, when a band first starts out they dont exactly have to do a world tour...

[Jesstaa]

SG6578 wrote:

MCShammas wrote:

If the song's not worth 99 cents to you, it's obviously not worth having at all. If you don't want to pay, just listen to the radio for Christ's sake.

You can spend thousands on music. I'll buy myself a new gibby and become an artist and won't give a f*ck if people download because I'll have enough money.

Chyeah... Best of luck with that.

[MCShammas]

SG6578 wrote:

MCShammas wrote:

If the song's not worth 99 cents to you, it's obviously not worth having at all. If you don't want to pay, just listen to the radio for Christ's sake.

You can spend thousands on music. I'll buy myself a new gibby and become an artist and won't give a f*ck if people download because I'll have enough money.

Cost of CD=$15 generally
CD's purchased per year=Around 5 (Considering most bands come out with CD's every few years.) Also, me being a Tool fan, I have to wait up to 5 years.
Total Cost per year=Maybe $100

[Lotz222]

I the music industry failed to see technology as a threat. Now they are paying for poor management.

And by the way, there is so much sh@t music out these days that even if i wanted to buy a CD there would be none worth buying.

[SG6578]

I might have a better chance that you, lol. AC DC and the Living End are the only good bands out of Aus.

[Lohnanmilitia]

Record labels just need to understand that the large variety of the shit that they try and sell sucks! Thats not our faults. If people dont buy cds now, more laws and actions aren't going to change their minds. I personally buy cds all of the time. I like having the artwork and a hard copy. I support the bands i like in every way I can. Artists main revenue comes from concerts and merch sale anyway.

[SG6578]

MCShammas wrote:

SG6578 wrote:

MCShammas wrote:

If the song's not worth 99 cents to you, it's obviously not worth having at all. If you don't want to pay, just listen to the radio for Christ's sake.

You can spend thousands on music. I'll buy myself a new gibby and become an artist and won't give a f*ck if people download because I'll have enough money.
Cost of CD=$15 generally
CD's purchased per year=Around 5 (Considering most bands come out with CD's every few years.) Also, me being a Tool fan, I have to wait up to 5 years.
Total Cost per year=Maybe $100

Idk you probably do less than me I think Id be at about 25 CD's for the year.

[Lamb of Deth]

SG6578 :
T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

ROFL!!!

[Wachunga]

I just buy my cds at cheapo or half-price, where they're all used, or i get a friend to burn me a copy of the cd i want. Its still illegal, its just that they cant track it and put it in their retarded statistics.

[SG6578]

There's 4 USA's worth of terrorists? or An entire China full of them?

[GuitarJunkie]

What do they even care, the RIAA doesn't give any money received from settlements to the artists anyway.

[Black Star]

Kapalen wrote:

And I aint talking about cause they don't tour anymore, I mean to say that the Beatles didn't go on tour for like the second half of their career.

How many bands are honestly going to refuse to go on tour? The Beatles had enough money from the whole Beatlemania craze in the early 60s that they didn't NEED to tour anymore, which further proves the point. You think they got all that money from album sales? Think again. There's also better ways to get money than a record label gripping you by the balls your entire career. For example, have your fans donate. There's a website called Slice the Pie that actually lets fans donate to the artist so that they can create an album.

Which is more important: Paying thousands of dollars on the music of today, or using that money to make the music of tomorrow?

Also, shouldn't it be the artists' decision as to whether they accept downloading of their music or not? For example, Trent Reznor. It is still speculated as to whether he was the one to leak Year Zero, mainly because he is an avid supporter of file-sharing.

[Cous Cous =>]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

This is very true but these people still have to make livings.

[Black Star]

Cous Cous => wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

This is very true but these people still have to make livings.

Merch and Gigs. That's where they get most of their money anyways.

[_A.D.I.D.A.S._]

The music industry needs to change its business model. Selling CDs is no longer profitable thanks to the internet. Suing anyone who downloads is like putting people who drive cars in jail because you don't have one.

OR they can just stop bitching. CDs still make tons a money for these record companies and it will stay that way for a long long time. They need to grow up and stop being greedy.

[goskayourself]

support the band, by a ticket and see a show!

[dudebud]

Man, I truly believe that music should be free to download. Not that I don't think the artist should be paid for their work because that is totally no the case.

The point of the matter is that people will not stop downloading no matter what. I never sneek into concerts or steal band shirts or live DVDs. This is where my money goes.

I simply can't afford to feed myself and listen to all the great music the world has to offer at the same time. I will always try to cough up the $45 for a ticket to see some of my favorite bands and maybe another $45 for a t-shirt at the concert if it doesn't completely break the bank.

I make decent money but still can't afford to be doing this for every single artist I love. Is that wrong? Maybe. Unjust? Probably.

[Magero]

I've studied this and I have my educational cert in Music.
The average album sale gives the band around $1-2 from $20-30. So yeah, cool. A band sells 7,500 records. There's $7,500. WOO. Right... that's gotta last them a year maybe? Plus they need to pay for recording, merch to be made, tours to be booked, plane tickets, trailer hire, food, etc. Bands make their money from merch sales and touring. The only people who actually make money from CDs are labels. Both Bleeding Through and Whitechapel advocate people downloading their music, as long as they come out and see them live or buy some merch, because all they care about is being able to get music into the hands of people who want to hear it.

[apm505]

I'm a free speech mother****er and i take what I want when I want.

[Rtard_GWARRIOR]

Half the music i download i actualy have the albums for. Mostly on vinyl... So i cant really put that on my MP3 player. Like Kill em' All, Ride the Lightning, England, Killers, Masters of Reality, Paranoid. Stuff like that. Why would i buy the CD of it when i have it already. the last CD i bought was All Hope Is Gone. I prefer the actual disk over a burnt one, they just last alot longer, And i like reading the little thanks and comments in the booklet, thats the only reason i will buy a CD is because it comes with some stuffs. Like Chinese Democracy when i got it came with two old school GnR logo Beer coasters. Which actualy helps sell a CD when its like. $12.99. But some of the albums ive seen the prices of and i just want to puke.
Like Limp dickspit. three of their albums are $29.99. its a wonder why they dont sell much. but if the labels are making the albums that much i see why people dont buy them and download them instead.

[AdenZerda]

Well, I enjoy having a physical product when I buy a CD. The quality is a big benefit, also. Are bands just supposed to eat the cost of printing CDs to give away for free?

[kmbuchamushroom]

Time to bring back vinyl!!

[cybermichaelusa]

the only that bothers me about this article is that they abbreviated "I"nternet "S"ervice "P"roviders as IPS's

i guess UG didnt graduate his abbreviation spelling class.

[Cresspo]

I say bands should become famous because they have good songs, then they should earn money by doing gigs and not by selling albums....free albums yay, stupid wankers nooo

[DriveToNowhere]

A big reason I like downloads is that I have an opportunity to listen to full songs and decide if it's worth paying for a band's music. A 30 second clip just doesn't do the music justice and is no basis on which to decide to spend $10-20 on an album.

AN IDEA (that may work for fans and labels alike):
A band's label releases the album for full download with IP tracking. You can listen to each song let's say three time in full, not just clips. Then you're locked out of the file until you purchase it, either electronically or in physical form. If you don't like the album enough to purchase it, no loss. And you avoid paying for an album only to realize that it blows and you wasted your money on a crappy frisbee. Good idea? Bad idea? What do you guys think?

[blaghostbla]

Bring back vinyls I say...only vinyls, wouldn't that be awesome? Impossible...but awesome.

[broken circle]

A three-year investigation into online music piracy has concluded that 95 percent of music downloads are illegal.

I could have told you that in roughly three seconds.

[crzywhiteboy]

DriveToNowhere wrote:

A big reason I like downloads is that I have an opportunity to listen to full songs and decide if it's worth paying for a band's music. A 30 second clip just doesn't do the music justice and is no basis on which to decide to spend $10-20 on an album.

AN IDEA (that may work for fans and labels alike):
A band's label releases the album for full download with IP tracking. You can listen to each song let's say three time in full, not just clips. Then you're locked out of the file until you purchase it, either electronically or in physical form. If you don't like the album enough to purchase it, no loss. And you avoid paying for an album only to realize that it blows and you wasted your money on a crappy frisbee. Good idea? Bad idea? What do you guys think?

you do know its very simple to change an IP address.

[|Heretic|]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Most bands make more money from tour and merch sales than record sales these days, so i doubt they do give a donkey's turd about the money from albums.

And as for 'legal' downloads, bands barely make a hand full off coppers (maybe an overstatement) from these, so there just a waste of time and expense for fans who want to 'support' their favourite artists and buy the music on-line. Tough s**t, just the way it is.

[strawberryJAMZ]

house market is at all time low cuz people download houses

[blaghostbla]

strawberryJAMZ wrote:

house market is at all time low cuz people download houses

Finally someone gets it....thank you!

[Rock_Twist92]

This sucks!!

I will be a future rockstar and i dont think people should download music illegaly.

what i do is get music from my cousin.

[Bradders0707]

Answer for record company's:

Release GOOD music on vinyl instead.

[b_flo]

Working for a live sound company, it makes bands tour more....that's where they make their money-on merch, and ticket sales. The record companies get the majority of the money when it comes to CD sales. As an alternative, bands should just release more live recordings on tour. That's why, go out and support your favorite artists by going to their shows. Even in this tough economy, we've been busier than ever....I guess people still need to be entertained. Record companies are ignorant-the people know that most of the money goes to them, not the artist.

[2112pk]

only 95?

[Eternium]

I think Trent Reznor and Radiohead are the first ones to run the business like it is going to be in the future.

[undeadcorpse]

i believe downloading music is wrong and makes it harder for the bands if no one is actually paying to listen to then, but the record labels steal so much from the bands also they can be just as bad as a percentage of fans downloading instead of buying...

[Eternium]

undeadcorpse wrote:

i believe downloading music is wrong and makes it harder for the bands if no one is actually paying to listen to then, but the record labels steal so much from the bands also they can be just as bad as a percentage of fans downloading instead of buying...

The underground has exploded because of downloading and the Internet. Now these bands are getting popular and making money touring with bigger bands. And it's because few people would BUY an album by a band they've never heard of.

[ordinary_story]

But File sharing is always gonna be there! If there is internet, there will be file sharing..simple as that.

The industry in Music "industry" is going down...and it should...There is no place for profit-making in Art.

Good Riddance, i say.

[maninthebox24]

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

How could someone not be gay and be a homosexual?

[strat0blaster]

Lapidus wrote:

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

HA! True.

I agree that it's nice to buy the album - I love the artwork and having the complete package. What I don't love is record labels that force feed bands what to write, and so I get 2 good songs and 11 filler tracks.

I download to preview, and if I like it, I buy it. Maybe this wouldn't be an issue if cds didn't cost 13 bucks when they only cost $0.30 to make.

[DriveToNowhere]

crzywhiteboy wrote:

you do know its very simple to change an IP address.

Of course, but not all consumers know that. And I'm no programmer, but there must be some way to make something like that happen. Some coding in the music file or something. It's just a thought.

Music labels are not something that will be going away in the near future. We should stop bitching about things we can't change and start thinking of ways to find a middle ground between consumers and labels.

[lyonk55]

Part of the problem is the cost of CDs...a new CD is generally about £10+, which isn't much, but if you want to buy all the music you like its a small fortune! Also, for people wanting to try ne stuff, £10 is alot for something you might not like...Basiclly if CDs were cheaper I think there would be quite alot less downloading.

[MetalheadMark]

Screw the music industry.

[ratedpg]

Maybe when the music industry actually starts treating their artists fairly and stops constantly shoveling out crap like britney spears we'll start feeling some sympathy for them.

[chewychuckels]

ratedpg wrote:

Maybe when the music industry actually starts treating their artists fairly and stops constantly shoveling out crap like britney spears we'll start feeling some sympathy for them.

Couldn't agree with you more dude

[destroyer179]

i dl via torrent or direct (megaupload, rapidshare) to test out music. if i like it then i buy the cd if i don't i simply delete it. its actually handy for people that are honest.

[beelaal85]

The IFPI sucks big time! How come ac/dc's new album went best-selling? Death Magnetic? All Hope is Gone? Huh? Eagles' latest album? MJ's Thriller sold 100 million copies? Album sales depends on the quality of the songs and the fan base... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_music
http://en.wikipe dia.org/wiki/2008_in_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/200 6_in_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-sellin g_albums_worldwide

[Andragon]

Fuck you; I won't do what you tell me!

[Cobra Strike]

I either: Buy The actual hard copy of the cd, wich over 90 percent of the time I do. Or Download singles off iTunes to bands I only like a song by. Of just recently - MID's of piano themes of video games. Which arent copywighted cause its arranged and put up by users. I never break the law

[Cobra Strike]

strat0blaster wrote:

Lapidus wrote:

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

HA! True.

I agree that it's nice to buy the album - I love the artwork and having the complete package. What I don't love is record labels that force feed bands what to write, and so I get 2 good songs and 11 filler tracks.

I download to preview, and if I like it, I buy it. Maybe this wouldn't be an issue if cds didn't cost 13 bucks when they only cost $0.30 to make.

I do agree with the sales price of cd's being so high. Beatles cd's are 14.99 a cd, unless you go to costco, but thats different. But artists need the money... Music should be much cheaper. If they were like 5$ a cd. Artists would sell more cd's therefore more money.

[TJ1991]

how many more times are they gonna confirm this?

[lul]

i'll never buy cd ever again..

[TheWickerMan666]

DriveToNowhere wrote:

A big reason I like downloads is that I have an opportunity to listen to full songs and decide if it's worth paying for a band's music. A 30 second clip just doesn't do the music justice and is no basis on which to decide to spend $10-20 on an album.

AN IDEA (that may work for fans and labels alike):
A band's label releases the album for full download with IP tracking. You can listen to each song let's say three time in full, not just clips. Then you're locked out of the file until you purchase it, either electronically or in physical form. If you don't like the album enough to purchase it, no loss. And you avoid paying for an album only to realize that it blows and you wasted your money on a crappy frisbee. Good idea? Bad idea? What do you guys think?

Iron Maiden did this when they released Somewhere Back In Time (Greatest Hits). I didn't bother, 'cause I'm cool enough to own every Maiden song ever anyway! But I though it was a good idea.

So +1

[CryingAlone]

TJ1991 wrote:

how many more times are they gonna confirm this?

+1

[Uranutan]

oh no, maybe the pop singers will have to get real jobs and contribute to society.

[Utci]

I can't get one place to buy megadeth's rust in peace, and they expect me to buy all the cd's I want. Let me see, I'm from Latin America, it doesn't mean we don't buy. They are constantly crying about the illegal downloads, but here in Argentina, I can't buy GTA IV, I can't find CD's from bands that aren't local or mega comercial: Can't even find the firsts Aerosmith CD's, no Megadeth Warchest, lol. The only CD from megadeth I've found in all stores was RISK, comercial sh** i won't buy, next.

[Shread_6009]

one reason i download is beause (especially in canada) 95% of all cd`s are missing in stores. usually its a bands classic album, like megadets rust in peace, and the new album. or endless collections of beatle and acdc hits that constantly iuse the same 9 songs and forget about 99% of their catalogé

and for every band ive ever downloaded (and liked), i have bought at least 1 cd, one shirt, one poster or 1 concert ticket. scuse me for cheating sony out of 10$

[josh.more]

heres an idea, why dont the bloody record companies put there artist catalogues in an itunes store on there websites?

[Shredder03]

I used to download free music, but it felt wrong. Plus, it kinda messed up my computer. Buying Cd's are better anyways because you get the whole artwork, lyrics, and CD.

[Darkoisking]

I personally download somewheres towards 3000 songs
off of limewire back in 06, and when my computer crashed, i lost all of it. people should just buy the disc in case this ever happens, and it would help out the music industry/economy too as a plus

[rebreh]

Rockon914 wrote:

i hope the music industry dies.

Thats such a stupid thing to say. The industry is stupid but they brought you all of your favorite bands. I buy albums cuz its right. Illegal downloading has ruined the idea of making 10 songs and the whole idea of an album. And smaller artist depend on album sales.Sure metallica doesn't need the money but for a starting band,thats what determines if they will be kept by the company. And the sales pay producers,engineers,even janitors so shut up.

[vidinamusic]

Im an artist

I record my music free

I have a day job

I earn money to buy equipment

I know how to create images and put them on album covers, t-shirts, and posters. That knowledge and skill is free.

I can promote my music online. For free.

I get gigs from music agents online. For free.

Apart from my job, I am self-sufficient.

I know how to handle money. I don't loose money.

I give my music away for free.

I still make profit from shows.

Music isn't tangible. Thoughts and ideas aren't tangible.

I don't consider it a service.

I don't believe its right to sell such a thing.

A simple man, I suppose I am.

[Silas S Thompso]

I almost always buy Cd's, except if it's a band that someone tells me about and we don't have the same tastes. Or a band I read about. But if I like it I'll buy it, if I don't it's not worth 20.00

[Flipje]

vidinamusic wrote:

Im an artist

I record my music free

I have a day job

I earn money to buy equipment

I know how to create images and put them on album covers, t-shirts, and posters. That knowledge and skill is free.

I can promote my music online. For free.

I get gigs from music agents online. For free.

Apart from my job, I am self-sufficient.

I know how to handle money. I don't loose money.

I give my music away for free.

I still make profit from shows.

Music isn't tangible. Thoughts and ideas aren't tangible.

I don't consider it a service.

I don't believe its right to sell such a thing.

A simple man, I suppose I am.

You sir, are a GENIUS, and correct to boot.

[ShredFatLicks]

Well, Nirvana didn't have a ton of money when they started out, and just to record 'Bleach' they all had to get jobs (and in Kurt's case, mooch off of his girlfriend), but after that, things started to pick up. I know that's before downloading really started, but that could happen to any band... Plus, most of the other bands I listen to- the CD's are incredibly hard to find, so I have to download it, otherwise I can't listen. I still buy most of the CD's that I download, I just download so I can have the pleasure of listening to it until I can pick up the CD.

[a6l6e6x1]

dancesisidance wrote:

Here comes a tonne of comments by people that illegally download pretending the have morals and saying they wouldn't ever download.

Ha./

This being one of them

[Newstad_Rocker]

lower quality of todays music and ridiculous price of albums $15 bucks for oasis album= free downloading

[charliezard!]

This has been going on for years... and the music industry is still obnoxiously big... hm... that's interesting.

We should download more music.

[warlockking]

The only reason the record company ppl give a shit about illegal downloading is because they are the ones who get paid by the Record sales. The artist doesnt get shit. the artist prolly makes more money if the music is free becuz more ppl will hear their songs and then will go see shows and buy the tour merch, which is how the artist actually makes any money.

I personally usually will buy Cds, unless i only really want one particular song and don't think i'll like the rest of the album, in which case i do buy off itunes.

[_A.D.I.D.A.S._]

The band Scars of Life disbanded because of internet piracy. Go on limewire and type in korn godsmack linkin park and you might find their songs. Just tossing out a bit of info. Bands, even great bands, can go downhill in a second to internet piracy. Not saying it's always gonna happen, but it CAN happen.

[Lapidus]

Darkoisking wrote:

I personally download somewheres towards 3000 songs
off of limewire back in 06, and when my computer crashed, i lost all of it. people should just buy the disc in case this ever happens, and it would help out the music industry/economy too as a plus

yeah, that or learn how to backup data

[_A.D.I.D.A.S._]

I wonder why you don't hear too much from the bands themselves... Except for Gene Simmons, but we know how he is.

[dxpaintball8000]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

I dont think we should **** the bands out of money. They arent just doing this for fun. This is their JOB. theres alot of physical and mental strain that goes into tours and such that the average person just doesnt realize. Corey Taylor spent 4 months working out just for the new slipknot tour. Any money they get from tours or album sales is well deserved. For good bands atleast.

[K!!LsWiTcH]

tancanada wrote:

The music industry is wrong then, because LimeWire is technecally legal. And thats all that anyone uses, unless you have a torrent.

limewire and torrents arent illegal sharinf the music files the way people do is illegal.

[tygy96]

soo lets see, they just lost 95% of their income and yet are still wealthy beyond belief raking in money daily? I dont buy it. Music is an art form, theres alot of starving artists, but they continue to paint, sculpt, etc because they enjoy it. Those who truly loved music and made good music would continue to do so without the record labels and would make more money by it

[dwfp99]

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

I do play music for a living, and i also work in retail to make ends meet. I have a audio tech friend record my stuff sounds great, costs me bout 200 euros per session, i can do 5-8 tracks per session and i get how ever many cds i want. I put them up and let ppl down them, so i don't care bout this piddly wining! I get paid for everything i sale, know why, no ****ing music industry middle man, managers charge round 26% of a musicians income. That's crap and i refuse to pay that. I also agree that labels should stop pickin up crap bands so those of us good artists can get a chance at the lime light we deserve. DOWNLOAD your music free cuz bands deserve the support! Just respect the intellectual property, give credit where credit is due!

[arsonite]

Let's get rid of all the middle men that are complaining about it!

[jambajews]

wow no shit

[sammo_boi]

if i couldn't download music i wouldn't have bought any half the albums i have because i would never have heard them. i think it's fair to say illegal downloads help bands.

[pjansen]

honestly, all music found on limewire is all relatively well-known, mainstream stuff. if you want anything unknown or specific you have to buy it cause its not on limewire. this helps the lesser known artists by buying forcing people to purchase their music, i think the mainstream artists can take the hit. illegal downloading funnels profit towards the little guys. also, how can you possibly stop 3 billion and counting?

[æTonyæ]

Conformist wrote:

95% of statistics are made up. (Yes including that one)

Conformist wrote:

95% of statistics are made up. (Yes including that one)

F@#$IN PARADOX! OMFG! my head hurts.

[Daniel8488]

I download music, i dont buy it, purely for convienace, why buy a CD that i will just rip onto my computer or portable device and have a huge collection of dusty CD's taking up room when i can just go on google and with a few clicks download what ever i want, regardless if it's fashionable (since music shops only stock so much).

The record industry need to understand how the consumer think's and how best to serve them instead of saying, oh they're all bad they download are music, we should sue them and try to get they're internet cut off.

How about actaully thinking, hmm ok so they would rather download music which is more easily accesable too, how about we start offering cheaper downloaded albums, since there is no physical media and delivery/ shipping costs.

[Flaming Chaos]

i happily download shiteloads of music but also i try to buy it if i like it, depends on how much money i have, i currently have 200+ cd's

[michaelbot9000]

even if downloading was legal, im pretty sure the same number of people would buy cds..

99% of people who buy cds, buy them because they want a hardcopy of what theyre getting and they want to support their favourite artists (even if it only helps them out a fraction of the cd cost, its better then downloading for free)

[Dionietzsche]

Lets calculate this... online songs are $1.00 a pop. The average CD has about 14 songs on it and costs about $14.00. That means if you buy a CD online you are paying about the same price as a physical copy for something that cost them virtually nothing to manufacture. Its all profit, why are they complaining?

Music was around long before a bunch of pig ****ing capitalists tried to run the show, and it will be around for long afterward. It belongs to the people and no corporation can take it away from us. If you think the music industry is necessary, or even helpful, keep in mind that its only been around for about a century, while music dates back to the dawn of our kind.

[michaelbot9000]

Dionietzsche wrote:

Lets calculate this... online songs are $1.00 a pop. The average CD has about 14 songs on it and costs about $14.00. That means if you buy a CD online you are paying about the same price as a physical copy for something that cost them virtually nothing to manufacture. Its all profit, why are they complaining?

Music was around long before a bunch of pig ****ing capitalists tried to run the show, and it will be around for long afterward. It belongs to the people and no corporation can take it away from us. If you think the music industry is necessary, or even helpful, keep in mind that its only been around for about a century, while music dates back to the dawn of our kind.

yeah but with no industry, it gets kinda hard to get your music in other countries and provinces/states. yeah they rip the artists off, but they provide the artist with a much larger fan base then the artist could ever achieve alone

[SchecterC-1+Man]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

A lot of them don't. But most of them also don't have another job. Money isn't my main priority by any means when it comes to music, but I wouldn't mind being paid so I can afford food. You know what I mean?

[Anjohl]

If something CAN be done, and the pros outweigh the cons, there is no reason for it to be illegal.

$17 per CD vs free per CD is hard to deny. Maybe if record labels started marking down CD's to NO MORE than $10 each, or allowed digitial downloads purchased on iTunes to be traded within itunes, people woudl come back to the "legitimate" side again.

Until then, downloading is here to stay.

[Birchall17]

insurgentsteve :
"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

Why don't you try downloading it.

[mrbiscuits315]

Mrbiscuits315 claims none of us care and will continue illegally downloading music.

[Shamanic Rhythm]

So despite having being constantly touting the claim that illegal downloading will kill the music industry, it has been shown that sales of digital music have actually increased. You know what this shows? It's not that people don't want to spend money supporting an artist they like, it's that they don't want to overspend.

Under the old system, let's say I hear a song on the radio and decide I want that song. In order to buy it, I have to pay AU$30 for a cd with several other songs. Now, if the band produces good albums then I won't mind shelling out that kind of money, but it is a well documented fact that record companies don't like bands who take time to release albums with good tracks, they would much rather they churn out ones with a couple of hits and a lot of filler. If you don't believe me read some band biographies. So there is a good chance that this album will be full of a lot of crap.

Now imagine that I want to put together a whole playlist of different songs by artists with a similar sound to the one I heard on the radio. I'd have to spend 300 bucks to get 10 songs. The only way around this is to hope that the label releases the song as a single instead, but even then it's still five bucks and you get a B side with it, so it's still going to cost me at least fifty bucks, and remember that singles only are around when the band has just released them. Any other time, you have to fork out for an album.

So you can see obviously where digital music fits into this picture. It makes it a hell of a lot easier for people to choose exactly what they want. The problem is that the music industry has been slow to get behind it, mainly because they know they'll start losing money as people won't pay for crap any longer, and as such they've tried to burden the few pay for download programs with ridiculous costs and licensing laws. So it's simply easier for people to download illegally.

Basically, when they get behind the technology of the future, illegal downloading will not be as much of an issue. But the record companies are clinging on to a system that has made them rich. It's like how everytime someone invented a more fuel efficient engine, the petrol companies bought out the patent and just locked it away in some vault. These people want to keep squeezing as much money out of us as possible. And so they'll continue to try and fight downloading.

[LazyLatinoRocke]

This isn't new(s).

[Wigert]

SG6578 wrote:

SteamMaster wrote:

SG6578 wrote:

T.Rextacy wrote:

Put a stop to downloading then? i don't imagine it's that hard, i mean hell they can find terrorists and child molesters online but they can't stop music downloading?

There aren't a billion terrorists

you would think so wouldnt you, terrorists dont just come from Afghanistan though... anywhere can have a terrorist, i could be a terrorist for all you know

F*ck, well why didn't someone tell GW that before he left so he could bomb the sh*t out of Iran, North Korea, The Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil....ect?

Maybe, but he should have started with Washington D.C.

[Axe Samurai]

Do they even care that anyone can type a song name into Youtube and it WILL be there and yet this isn't illegal?.

The IFPI may as well just give up now, they will never stop this uprise, unless somehow they have the power to take down massive sites such as Youtube or other video/media sites. It goes way beyond basic downloading from sites such as limewire. I could right now set up something like Cubase or Audacity and record that music from the Youtube site.....i know this is unconventional but yet i would end up with the song for free still AND it would have been untraceable.

[Blaster Bob]

The ratio of downloads will not shift toward the legal side until a single DRM system is standardized, and whatever they use will have to be WAY less crippled than anything out now.

[AngelOfHatred]

hawk_kst wrote:

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals
Opposed to the straight homosexuals...

Exactly what I was thinking.

[vIsIbleNoIsE]

this is why i regard the street musician as iconic of the purest form of music. unless that street musician sucks.

[Levi79]

cd's shouldnt be that expensive then

[squierstratcat]

hawk_kst :
euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

Opposed to the straight homosexuals...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[GuitarJunkie]

_A.D.I.D.A.S._ wrote:

The music industry needs to change its business model. Selling CDs is no longer profitable thanks to the internet. Suing anyone who downloads is like putting people who drive cars in jail because you don't have one.

OR they can just stop bitching. CDs still make tons a money for these record companies and it will stay that way for a long long time. They need to grow up and stop being greedy.

Dionietzsche wrote:

Lets calculate this... online songs are $1.00 a pop. The average CD has about 14 songs on it and costs about $14.00. That means if you buy a CD online you are paying about the same price as a physical copy for something that cost them virtually nothing to manufacture. Its all profit, why are they complaining?

Music was around long before a bunch of pig ****ing capitalists tried to run the show, and it will be around for long afterward. It belongs to the people and no corporation can take it away from us. If you think the music industry is necessary, or even helpful, keep in mind that its only been around for about a century, while music dates back to the dawn of our kind.

both excellent points

[Sublime Stylee]

dinosaurs will die. im not paying $25 for a cd i can get for free

[GreekGuitarist]

Well if artists dont get paid, they would need to work another job or two to keep on making music, its an expensive career choice to have.

[deezal]

wow thats a lot of comments :S firstly i jus wanna say i dont give i shit no ones gonna stop us downloaders well especially me since i not only steal music but the internet service i have too XD im too much oooo cant see me only jokin but seriouslly why is everyone makin a deal out of it lol its not big deal downloadin has to be the longest runnin thing

[Seidenschnur]

The money to fund this research and the impending lawsuits is coming from bands that nobody downloads from in the first place.

Some bands need all the help they can get, but the world is changing and only the strong survive. If the record industry dies then great--no more cut and paste filler. Trust me when I say that the musicians who carry on without making millions will be worth listening to. I'd pay anything to hear some heart and soul coming out of the speakers.

[Haunt3dAng3l]

The real fans (like myself) of bands always will buy their albums. To me, there is just something missing if I don't have the actual CD to an album that I love most of the songs on. To that guy that said if they made it free that would "Solve" the problem. You're right, it would solve the downloading problem. But it would create a much bigger and worse problem. Not every music artist plays live. Therefore, they only make money off of recordings. Some artists might not be able to play gigs very often so most of their musical income is from recordings. Which, if they were free, would give them a total of 0$ off of doing what they love. YOUR favorite artists would not be able to play live because record companies become non existent and so do booking agencies. The bands have no money to use to tour, no one to book them shows internationally (or anywhere for that matter), No wide distribution of their music, etc, etc. In short, the music you love listening to would die off in a relatively short amount of time. To that "deezal" user above, here is the moral of the story: It IS a big deal because people have to make a living somehow, billions of illegal downloads = lost income and you can't pay your bills and afford to take a shit, wipe your ass and then flush.

[lepermessiah22]

Sid McCall wrote:

I'm a music industry major and I'm studying this in many of my classes.

please tell me you go to SUNY Oneonta

[Survivalism]

Thanks, music industry. Good thing nobody gives a shit.

[trendkill-]

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

bands get little from cd's its from touring they get the real money

[trendkill-]

Haunt3dAng3l wrote:

The real fans (like myself) of bands always will buy their albums. To me, there is just something missing if I don't have the actual CD to an album that I love most of the songs on. To that guy that said if they made it free that would "Solve" the problem. You're right, it would solve the downloading problem. But it would create a much bigger and worse problem. Not every music artist plays live. Therefore, they only make money off of recordings. Some artists might not be able to play gigs very often so most of their musical income is from recordings. Which, if they were free, would give them a total of 0$ off of doing what they love. YOUR favorite artists would not be able to play live because record companies become non existent and so do booking agencies. The bands have no money to use to tour, no one to book them shows internationally (or anywhere for that matter), No wide distribution of their music, etc, etc. In short, the music you love listening to would die off in a relatively short amount of time. To that "deezal" user above, here is the moral of the story: It IS a big deal because people have to make a living somehow, billions of illegal downloads = lost income and you can't pay your bills and afford to take a shit, wipe your ass and then flush.

if they dont gig its not htere career and they probly have another job.....god u know so little

[Final !mpact]

I have made it my mission to destroy the music industry.

Think about it. It will get rid of all the over produced shit and it will take talent and hard work to actually get some fame instead of a drum machine and daddy's friend in the music industry.

[2rocker7]

no one gives a crap if its illegal or not

[August_Burns]

littleleo88 wrote:

The report states that the IFPI removed three billion links to such files in 2008, up from 500,000 in 2007.

so what they are saying is, that someone actually counts the difference between 3,000,000,000 and 2,999,500,000.
what a joke.

im pretty sure this claim is a load of rubbish though, call me a sucker, but i only ever download music legitimately, and im sure more than 5% of other people do. though it fuels record companies, it also gives us new music.

believe it or not you may be wrong, it's actually kind of naive and foolish not to get something for free when there are no repercussions.
As for me, I download a lot of music, but if its really good, I'll buy the cd if its worth it.

[August_Burns]

GS LEAD 5 wrote:

Besides, the album pack represents part of the soul of the album. Who the heck wants their "Powerslave" or "Master of Puppets" represented by an image on a screen?????

Who the **** wants powerslave or master of puppets represented on anything? lol

[tonedeafidiot]

I'm sorry, but this has got to be a HUGE statistical error. I don't really care, anyway, since most income comes from live shows. Not saying that I'd ever download songs illegally, that's just plain wrong.

[The_Teleblaster]

dancesisidance wrote:

Here comes a tonne of comments by people that illegally download pretending the have morals and saying they wouldn't ever download.

Ha./

Spot on.

I am proud to say I have never downloaded in my life, I buy my CDs. It is way better in terms of quality, plus you get booklets and an actual material copy of the songs instead os some crap you downloaded illegaly.

All you illegal downloaders burn!

[Korzack]

Lets' be honest - for the companies behind such things, the "Music" element of this is the last thing the suits are considering - it';s always been an Industry, a Business... As I read from lemmy's auto-biog, good business is theft... heh In that case, to paraphrase megadeth - Stealing is their business... And business is good, but not as good as it was, which is what they're concerned about.

[sneyob]

I have contributed to this problem by at least 10+ albums.
But I only downloaded bands that aren't carried in local music stores or chains.
I buy my music now though,
a f^cked computer wasn't worth it...
Damn viruses...

[megaluisdeth]

I can afford music man! Most of the Artist are set for life! I need free music too bad Metallica and all my favorite bands but I'm going to download more and more

[megaluisdeth]

megaluisdeth wrote:

I can afford music man! Most of the Artist are set for life! I need free music too bad Metallica and all my favorite bands but I'm going to download more and more

I mean I can't afford music

[slashe50]

I'll have to admit, I'm guilty of downloading a bunch of CDs. I do buy CDs, if it's something worth getting though (Held off on Guns N' Roses for obvious reasons).

This statistic seems very off, however. It could be just me, but a LOT of people I know buy all their crap. I'm sure the music industry is just trying to scare us into buying again.

[punXander]

ok ok... I have a few things that need to be said as i read from most the posts:

1) someone said downloading messed up there pc... that's impossible... mp3 files don't F@## up anything, it's audio, and only audio, you must've downloaded an exe file, or a rar that was maliciously named as the CD or song.
2) People who are worried about bands not making enough are RETARDED... seriously, they make lots, for many underground bands enough to pay rent (or vast majority)... they make it off touring and live gigs and the merch that goes with it... depending on the gig will determine how much a band will owe (ex. a small band usually play small venues, therefore need less crew, therefore less money is needed to put the show on... vice versa for a larger band)... in the end it works out with a profit for the band...

3) The sale of CD's isn't the only source of income for the record labels.... seriously they get a cut of the touring/merch/royalties for using the music in films/video games, etc. AND MOST MAJOR record labels aren't only in music (SONY,UNIVERSAL,who are in films video games and who own MANY other record labels under different names)
4) The a$$wipe who said that most bands don't have other jobs is a load crap!!!! MOST people in a band have a JOB and the music on the SIDE (if not on the side then again vice versa, music as there job and another job as something to do in there off time) FOR EXAMPLE: Bad Religion: Singer dude (greg grewitz, whatever)... Ph.D. and does research and teaches at UCLA... Brett (guitar player dude) produces and i am sure owns epitath (or has some sort of exec job)... Social D: Mike Ness has a custom hot rod and chopper garage. Bands like: Metallica, U2, and others on that level make/made so much money that they don't need to work on the side anymore and just focus on music... The only flaw I see are these stupid new "emo" or "scene" bands (i set my friends on fire, all time low, cobra starship, etc.) who are just finishing there high school and doing nothing after (like university/college/apprenticeships)... what's going to happen to them after 5 years from now when there fans and crowds grow up??? they will be broke as f#$k... but for all i know they could be doing schooling or working after (or now)... my point is people defending these big money hungry greedy record industries need to pick there battles and read/research a little more about the bands they say they "love" so much... Lots of bands HATE there record labels because of how much they rip off there fans (NIN/Radiohead/Weezer)... grr just gets me mad when people don't think and assume that a band success is determined by how much money is made from the people who sell there CD's...

Bottom line, DOWNLOAD! you'll find many GREAT and NEW bands online through torrents! and GO TO THE CONCERTS AND BY THE MERCH (if you have enough after the tix price)... lol i think my rage is gone now!

[remx15]

Lapidus wrote:

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

as scooter ward of cold said "the the f*$#ing music industry." there is so much more involved in this than piracy, and the biggest thing is record labels want money in a enconomy in recession. maybe they shouldnt sign every crappy band they find and sell 11 song cds from sucky bands for $20.

[larrytheguitar]

I usually download the albums from torrent sites as soon as the album is released, but purchase them when they come to my local CD store.

[PixieDust13]

i havent bought a cd in 4 years....downloaded = 120gb+

[seek_&_destroy]

Savage Animal wrote:

It's not like I would've paid for CDs instead. If I couldn't download off of torrent sites, I just simply wouldn't get music.

exactly.

and furthermore, more than 95% of my music i wouldn't have even known existed if i hadn't dl'ed something before it. (ie i download an album in the genre of.. jazz, i find solo albums of one of the members, then i find simlar bands, influential bands to that original band etc.)

[lordneezi]

I wouldn't of known that I liked lots of the bands that I listen to if I didn't download. And I also wouldn't of went to their shows and bought merch.

[Metallidethium]

Bartlett :
skaguitarist53 wrote:

Pookie6 wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Merch sales and endorsements.
Have you seen the price of a tshirt compared to how much it costs to make?
This is about how much money they make through album sales, not how much they need for studio time.

You're playing music for a living, wouldn't you want to get paid for what you're doing? How else would you make a living?

as a musician, the percentage of profit gained from touring is far greater than the percentage of profit derived from CD/Music sales through a label

i want to qoute this because it has been qouted loads so im joining in plus dont download illegallyy or however you spell it steal your freinds cds problem solved

haa problem being, my friends all listen to shit. im sorry but as my hours are being sliced at work im not rele able to buy cds and i listen to a ton of music but i cant expect those greedy RIAA execs to understand that. RIAA IFPI and OPEC can all fall in a well

[JuicyFrets]

Illegal downloading is fine by me, they make a shitload more money off touring than cd sales anyway(think 10 000 fans paying 100 dollars each) which is causing more artists to world tour. Which is good because I get to see more good live bands!
The labels/bands just need to get creative and start selling other things and making money in better ways.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Bought Cd=Much better audio quality, hard copy, band art, extras such as videos and posters

Pirated Cd/Dled music=More convenient, free, more exposure for the band as it gets to more fans

Cons

Bought Cd=Costs money, effort of going and buying it

Pirated=Illegal, Often not very good audio quality, no extras

Downloading illegally promotes touring!!!

[Metallidethium]

Kapalen :
Jesstaa wrote:

flxjhnlrssn wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:
Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

You don't understand, do you? As it is right now, or even a couple of years ago, the band don't make much money n the albums, so why would it change if they released the albums for free. and that about the promoting, the band could probably do that alright by themselves.

No, you don't understand, because even that small amount of money helps, and with that money, brings record companies, which give the bands loans to record albums, which cost a ****load to record. If music were free, record companies could not do this, bands could not record their albums in high quality, therefore not get a large fan base, therefore tours would be unsuccessful, and anyway, where do they get the money for the tour from, seriously...

Flxjhival: IF the albums were free the label wouldn't give artists advacnes to support themselves while they make it, then they also wouldn't have any money tos end that band on tour.

By the way tons of bands make more on album sales than touring. The Beatles being the best example.

ude make a shit more on album sales too if u havnt toured in 20+ years and u have 10 greatest hits albums out on the store floor.

[Escalier]

ok, on one side: people who tout their illigal downloading as a saintly thing to to, what with all their exposure (sarcasm included)

and: those who abide by the law and take the time to do something right.

and stop saying all the figures the band could make. first, many of you probably have no idea. second, i have heard not a squeak from the bands. this is all record execs. stuff. thirdly, how hard can it really be to pay for a cd? c'mon. really.

[vans1170]

as for the person who said "and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour."
look at nine inch nails.
trent released a free cd (the slip), and a free 1/3 of a cd (ghosts) in the same year. he then released a regular, limited, and more limited edition of ghosts, THEN released a limited hard copy of the slip. during this time, sometime, he released his own promotional tour sampler, for free, including bands opening for his tour. reminder: this is all by himself (and his crew). no one had to buy those cds, but all the limited editions are sold out. it is possible to survive without a record company, releasing free music, and touring, but you have to have dedicated fans, and a good amount of money in the first place.

i'm not saying no record company, but it needs a major change.

[vans1170]

i just realized half of that is kinda off topic to the article. whoops

[punXander]

this is true... ultimately it's about the bands... you don't see any of them complaining (well, Metallica... but they already have millions!)

[Pete13]

Fuck 95%???!!!!
That low??
Most bands dont care as long as people are listening, since they see hardy any of the money anyway! As long as you have paying fans at gigs i dont think bands give a shit.

[Gnarlysock]

I've bought more cds than I did before I started downloading and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The music industry owes a lot to illegal downloading.

[cyclobs]

and we care why?

[YourDad]

We can agree that by now it's too late. Buying NEW albums by all your favorite bands won't cost much, I know, but if they were to take away all of the downloaded music we have now, there would be almost nothing in most people's libraries.
There's really no benefit to stopping it now. Bands make money from merch and gigs than anything.

[Regression]

Pete13 wrote:

Fuck 95%???!!!!
That low??
Most bands dont care as long as people are listening, since they see hardy any of the money anyway! As long as you have paying fans at gigs i dont think bands give a shit.

And what you don't realise is that many bands are struggling to even tour now, with the recession and all. On top of that, petrol prices aren't exactly at an all time low, although they are alot better than they were a while back.

It may be true that bands don't get a huge amount of money, but they chose to sign to a record label, the label provides them with money for touring, promotion, recording, etc. Why doesn't the label deserve to make any money back from that?

If people don't buy the album, then what incentive will the label have to keep the band signed afterwards.

Besides, on major labels they do make atleast $1 per record, on independant they make about $2 and unsigned bands well.. it's hard to say.

If a band loses out on say, 50,000 sales thanks to downloading, that is a lot of money.

I'm sure you would notice if $50k was missing from your pay check.

[ethic]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Oh god. It's ****ing .99 cents for a song; with the band getting maybe a dime of that. Pay the g'damn dollar and let go of your naive, childish rock & roll ideology. New for ya: the best albums and best songs ever written were done so for and because of $$. No DIY band is ever going to make a cultural difference; which is what every artist wants to do.

[Pazuzu195]

this is news why? I kind of figured everyone knew this already

[mikelopez123]

Myspace Mafia Wars Cheats Codes: Free Hacks and TipsA Myspace Mafia Wars cheat code guide to Mafia Wars tips, hacks and winning the Mafia Wars Myspace game.

http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1028134/mys pace_mafia_wars_cheats_codes_free.html wuh

[kdcisgod]

lolz there sooooo many posts on this. sad.

i support who i support, and i don't who i don't

[tom1thomas1]

his names John Kennedy? lol. whats the isp? is that the internet (S) providers?

[Tominator_1991]

lmao, when i first read it i took in "International Federation of the Pornographic Industry"!

ahh good times

but seriously though, like south park said, ppl might illegally download the music, but then pay money for their merchandise and their shows etc., illegal downloads or (legal downloads) practically fuel the industry these days

[MHDrunk]

Guitar-God-Elf wrote:

Well if downloading illegally kills off a future of ONLY digital music - then surely its a good thing?

I'm pretty sure most people would prefer for artists to continue releasing music on CD's, or some sort of physical item.

Digital refers to CDs and DVDs

[Cianyx]

DriveToNowhere wrote:
AN IDEA (that may work for fans and labels alike):
A band's label releases the album for full download with IP tracking. You can listen to each song let's say three time in full, not just clips. Then you're locked out of the file until you purchase it, either electronically or in physical form. If you don't like the album enough to purchase it, no loss. And you avoid paying for an album only to realize that it blows and you wasted your money on a crappy frisbee. Good idea? Bad idea? What do you guys think?

You mean DRM?
There has been talk about it..
But hackers can cut through it like butter..

[Cianyx]

_A.D.I.D.A.S._ wrote:

The band Scars of Life disbanded because of internet piracy. Go on limewire and type in korn godsmack linkin park and you might find their songs. Just tossing out a bit of info. Bands, even great bands, can go downhill in a second to internet piracy. Not saying it's always gonna happen, but it CAN happen.

Aww...
That sucks...
I bought their album anyway even though it's probably too late

Checked.

Please don't encourage anything illegal on UG.

[CoolDudeMorgasm]

Sounds like they're trying to blame their loss of profit not on the economic downturn and on illegal downloaders instead of their outdated business model...

They'd probably make a lot more money if they stopped making useless expenses such as supporting the IFPI and the RIAA. Problem solved.

[Shabalaba]

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

No seeing as though bands make their living off CDs, sure tours and other mech make them money but CDs are part of their living.

Just buy CDs, i don't download because i don't want to mess my computer up with virus', i buy every CD and it's better that way tbh, quality is better, hard copy & owning many CDs is nice

[Black-Metal]

i have never ever illegally downloaded music

[flyingmarlin]

insurgentsteve wrote:

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

They wouldn't have one. They would be too scared someone could download it.

[primehunter14]

Artists make next to nothing on album sales. Look at who sues people who download music, the RIAA.... (Recording Industry Association of America) I hate that an indusrty gets involved in music, and music becomes not so much about the music, but about the money..... this philosophy has ruined many a band. I think the music industry should encourage people to go see a show, or buy merchandise, and make the music free. They can take a small cut off the top. That way, musicians still make money, the record company gets their money, and the public gets the music they want. A lot of people can't afford to buy all of an artists records, which is a good way to determine if you want to go see an artist live, so they download them, or just don't go to the shows, so the artist loses money. David Draiman of Disturbed said: "

[primehunter14]

sorry, he said: "Very positive about the internet, Napster. I think it's a tremendous tool for reaching many more people than we ever could without it. When you release music you want it to be heard by people. Artists really want to have their music heard. They want to have their creation heard by people. Nothing is going to do that better than Napster. I can't tell you how many kids have come up to me and said, 'I downloaded a couple of tunes off Napster and I went out and bought the album.' Or they say, 'I want to come see you play.' I don't really make money off of record sales anyway."

[Harmony.Korine]

Black-Metal wrote:

i have never ever illegally downloaded music

"Excuse me sir, have you ever downloaded music illegally?" Asked the undercover IFPI agent.
"i have never ever illegally downloaded music" Lied Mr. Black-Metal in return.

Fact of the matter is that IFPI still loses.

[Andy2k64]

dancesisidance wrote:

Here comes a tonne of comments by people that illegally download pretending the have morals and saying they wouldn't ever download.

Ha./

lol yeah im waitin for that too! I admit I do download but if i like something ill go on itunes and buy it...i delete stuff i dont like. Its not that I dont wanna support artists, I just dont wanna support itunes who take the p*ss out of the UK with the song prices!

[zxxAACxxz]

This is what divides making music for the love of music itself, or just to make millions. I'm so sorry to hear that you couldn't afford your Enzo-Ferrari.

[MasterExploder0]

I usually buy Cd's mainly because the money spent on iTunes gets spread around more than when you buy a CD. I will buy on iTunes if I'm just buying a song or two from a band that only has that many good songs. *coughcoughvelvetrevolvercough*

[TanZ_MetaL]

I admit that i download stuff but i only download when i wanna know a knew band or something. If i lke then i will buy the cd because they so expensive. i would very mad if i had paid a load of money for a crapy cd.

[DavidBenyamin]

The world is changing. And the Big Labels are going down, they know it. But they will try to stay alive as long as possible because they want... the money.

The entire system doesnt work anymore. Labels used to be the ones providing the only way to spread the music of a certain artist. Today such a system is not needed anymore. More and more artist will get their music online, the songs are free. And the fans that want to collect the album of their favorite band can Order one on their site. Its unavoidable shift the industry is going to make. Albums sales are a direct support to the band, No Labels. And the Liveshows will continue to be an income for artist.

[aiden4140]

So what if i bought an album and lost it/it got stolen after a week. Because i purchased the album legally, is there a problem with downloading it for free to replace it?

[Zell182]

I don't see why you'd pay for downloads. I either buy the cd or download it for free what's the point in going halfway?

[Donkey Fly]

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

The Fist Place?

Sounds Kinky.

[taatelikoira]

Hey, why is music industry something we wan't to maintain. The end of music industry =! the end of music. Free music downloads to everyone and the main source of income = gigs. The ones really profiting from record sales are the megalabels and the crappy acts they promote on the medias controlled by the megalabels. (don't take me too seriously guise)

[GS LEAD 5]

Jesstaa:
Tell me one band which started playing at Wacken or Budokan immediately after lunching their first album, without taking a single tour beforehand, and i'll eat my hat. An Indian band, Parikrama, lets you download all their music free from their site. And they have a huge fan following-just try buying tickets to one of their shows.

[GS LEAD 5]

Jesstaa: Yes, they would still get a fanbase, but not the same as if they were promoted by the labels (Which wouldn't exist if music were free), and then they wouldn't make enough money to even go on tour... It costs alot to travel around the world just as a person, let alone the band, the roadies, the gear and everything else, it's all veryyyyy expensive. Face it, the music industry needs money to work.

Tell me one band which started playing at Wacken or Budokan immediately after lunching their first album, without taking a single tour beforehand, and i'll eat my hat. An Indian band, Parikrama, lets you download all their music free from their site. And they have a huge fan following-just try buying tickets to one of their shows.

SORRY, IT SHOULD BE THIS ^^^

[Nilpferdkoenig]

FearBefore wrote:

You're playing music for a living, wouldn't you want to get paid for what you're doing? How else would you make a living?

The same way that I just said, if you'd care to read it.

Through merch and endorsements.

You ever heard of people who aren't famous?
What about that random guy playing in the local coffeeshop?
Lets say he has three CDs out and lives off of them, he earns 15,000 a year from those and another 7500 from gigging.

Would you buy a T-Shirt with his name on it?

Merch is only for large bands with a fanbase.

[GS LEAD 5]

And another thing, the very phrase "music industry" reduces music from art to a business,a factory mass producing hits so that artists get rich. Remember Metallica and Napster?

[GS LEAD 5]

Someone needs to do a study on the percentage of music that is downloaded that the user would have bought if it wasn't available free. I think most people download things that they wouldn't buy, therefore not taking money from the industry. Besides most artists would rather get the exposure than the 2 cents they get for selling a cd.

I fully agree

[Tool33]

The sense of entitlement on these downloading debate threads always astounds me. You think just because you like music and it is readily available for free, that you somehow have a right to it and deserve to have it at no cost? Everyone gives all types of justifications for downloading, but they all just sidestep the main issue; do you deserve this product of someone else’s creativity and effort for free? There is no way to logically argue that you do. No other product or service in society is expected at absolutely no cost.

People seem to latch onto the argument that bands make money other ways. That doesn’t change the fact that artists should be allowed to sell their product. Never mind that the more money is lost from album sales, the more bands lose on tour and merchandise proceeds because labels are taking ever increasing portions to compensate. Sure everybody does it, but it’s still wrong unless the band purposely gives it away.

[GS LEAD 5]

Has everyone stopped commenting????

[GS LEAD 5]

The sense of entitlement on these downloading debate threads always astounds me. You think just because you like music and it is readily available for free, that you somehow have a right to it and deserve to have it at no cost? Everyone gives all types of justifications for downloading, but they all just sidestep the main issue; do you deserve this product of someone else’s creativity and effort for free? There is no way to logically argue that you do. No other product or service in society is expected at absolutely no cost.

People seem to latch onto the argument that bands make money other ways. That doesn’t change the fact that artists should be allowed to sell their product. Never mind that the more money is lost from album sales, the more bands lose on tour and merchandise proceeds because labels are taking ever increasing portions to compensate. Sure everybody does it, but it’s still wrong unless the band purposely gives it away.

Oh yeah? Those who actually care about the few thousand dollars they make with slbum sales, they make music for money, not for the sake of art. Gottot dung head? Any true artist will not give a flying **** about the money he/she makes, he/she will only care about the quality of his/her creations.

[Tool33]

Oh yeah? Those who actually care about the few thousand dollars they make with slbum sales, they make music for money, not for the sake of art. Gottot dung head? Any true artist will not give a flying **** about the money he/she makes, he/she will only care about the quality of his/her creations.

Sorry, but I have to call BS on that. For starters, no need to attack me just because I stated an opinion, that has nothing to do with the actual argument. You still did not contest my main point, which was why should a musician not be allowed to sell their creation, and why do people deserve to have it free? It has nothing to do with how much they make from album sales or how much the musician cares (unless they agree to give it away). If they would make $5 from it, how do you defend taking that $5 they are owed?

[SnookM]

I don't think it's that much of a bad thing I got LimeWire and wouldn't have spent a shit load of money on CDs if I didn't like the bands, and wouldn't have got into the bands if I didn't have LimeWire...

[AnimatedHand]

playinbass1432 wrote:

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

As opposed to any other kind of homosexuals...

Lol

[laserlifex]

I really don't have enough money to buy many CDs, and downloading is the only way to hear music from relatively unknown bands. I don't have a credit card, so it's not like I buy online and so am limited to music stores like HMV which only sell mainstream albums. Fortunately, there are bands around who don't care whether people buy their albums or download them illegally, and these bands still make a decent amount of money from the people who still buy the CDs and from everyone who buys merch and go to concerts. I still occasionally buy CDs, because, like other people have said, it's nice to physically own the album so you can flick through the little book thing, read the lyrics and the comments from the band. Without illegal downloading, many bands would remain completely unknown and no one would bother buying their CDs.

[vans1170]

or they could even do free singles with one or two songs, like promotional stuff. that would be an alternative of free music.

everyone likes free stuff

[dannydesktop]

whats with the title... per cent?

[angusheeyaa35]

jamie_hough wrote:

boring music is the reason for this - its the music industrys own fault, if it wasnt for all the mediocre music that noone cares about then people wouldnt download it - crappy music isnt worth buying. everyone buys the cd of their favourite bands though becasue they want to support them, and by enlarge peoples favourite bands happen to be above average in quality... ANSWER = STOP SUPPORTING SHIT MUSIC YOU MUSIC INDUSTRY DOUCHEBAGS - nuff said

I totally agree.
Name an artist (apart from Metal or Rock etc, im talking mainly pop artists) who write for the purpose of releasing an album? The singles are whats important to them.

And, I would (and in some cases, i do) buy CD's, but the pathetic stock of any artists over 10 years old is ridiculous.
Took me 3 weeks to order in Exile on Main Street by the Stones.
I'd buy every one of their albums if they didn't have to be shipped in from another country for a ridiculously overpriced amount.

[DavidBenyamin]

The sense of entitlement on these downloading debate threads always astounds me. You think just because you like music and it is readily available for free, that you somehow have a right to it and deserve to have it at no cost? Everyone gives all types of justifications for downloading, but they all just sidestep the main issue; do you deserve this product of someone else’s creativity and effort for free? There is no way to logically argue that you do. No other product or service in society is expected at absolutely no cost.

People seem to latch onto the argument that bands make money other ways. That doesn’t change the fact that artists should be allowed to sell their product. Never mind that the more money is lost from album sales, the more bands lose on tour and merchandise proceeds because labels are taking ever increasing portions to compensate. Sure everybody does it, but it’s still wrong unless the band purposely gives it away.

A product? so thats how far this going? Im sorry but to me music is still a form of art. And ofcourse good artist must be able to live from it. Not every random guy who likes to write songs and play them is going to get payed. He proberly does it for fun anyway. Money shouldnt ever be a reason to be an artist. We can find images of famous painters and stuff all for free. Its you comparing the music to industries like Hollywood.

Hollywood productions cost millions and ofcourse you must pay for it to keep the business going. But as far as I know, song are written while your sitting in your bedroom, playing with your band, or whatever.

Money never came into the picture until Labels discovered the huge amount of cash that could be won by distributing music!

Songwriters/bands that get popular should be able to live on their art alone. And they will do just fine with their core fans buying the album, the merchendise and tickets to their show. We are going to see less multi-multi-millionair artist this way, but tbh thats a good thing.

Music is a form of creativity, it does not cost any money to produce. To record it might, but those cost are insignificant to what you can make out of a good list of songs.

Music shouldnt be about making money, and you should not expect it to be easy to get paid for it.

[Kurt-Corgan]

I am a proud Pirate. 'Arrrr.

[chinchillaboy]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

many bands don't actually care if fans download, they do think it's more about the music, not always....but I've seen many bands who think this way

[chinchillaboy]

DavidBenyamin wrote:

The sense of entitlement on these downloading debate threads always astounds me. You think just because you like music and it is readily available for free, that you somehow have a right to it and deserve to have it at no cost? Everyone gives all types of justifications for downloading, but they all just sidestep the main issue; do you deserve this product of someone else’s creativity and effort for free? There is no way to logically argue that you do. No other product or service in society is expected at absolutely no cost.

People seem to latch onto the argument that bands make money other ways. That doesn’t change the fact that artists should be allowed to sell their product. Never mind that the more money is lost from album sales, the more bands lose on tour and merchandise proceeds because labels are taking ever increasing portions to compensate. Sure everybody does it, but it’s still wrong unless the band purposely gives it away.

A product? so thats how far this going? Im sorry but to me music is still a form of art. And ofcourse good artist must be able to live from it. Not every random guy who likes to write songs and play them is going to get payed. He proberly does it for fun anyway. Money shouldnt ever be a reason to be an artist. We can find images of famous painters and stuff all for free. Its you comparing the music to industries like Hollywood.

Hollywood productions cost millions and ofcourse you must pay for it to keep the business going. But as far as I know, song are written while your sitting in your bedroom, playing with your band, or whatever.

Money never came into the picture until Labels discovered the huge amount of cash that could be won by distributing music!

Songwriters/bands that get popular should be able to live on their art alone. And they will do just fine with their core fans buying the album, the merchendise and tickets to their show. We are going to see less multi-multi-millionair artist this way, but tbh thats a good thing.

Music is a form of creativity, it does not cost any money to produce. To record it might, but those cost are insignificant to what you can make out of a good list of songs.

Music shouldnt be about making money, and you should not expect it to be easy to get paid for it.

amen, I agree 100%....music is still an art, and should be looked at it that way, it's a form of expression and foremost should be written to express yourself and to enjoy making it

[chris44]

we really need to p[ut a stop to this stealing music and shit. there is tonnes of musicians that are workings their asses off so we can steal their music cause we are to cheap to pay 99cents for a ****ing song. its killing the music industry.

[sfaune92]

i downloaded music because my favorite bands are not as popular as the "bitch pop" that sells shitloads of CD's

[tommytomtomtom]

wait! u can get music for free? illegally? and a lot of people do it? i wonder why, i never would have thought that!!!
but seriously go out and buy the god damn cd, instead just a single, the artist put work into making a whole album... thats why i at least download the whole album out of respect for them.

[RedNovember]

It bothers me that the music industry is making a record high amount of money, and are bitching about DL's. Give it a rest already. You lost. End of story.

[shreddyz11]

im gonna start buying underground brutal/tech metal bands CD's coz i cant find find them when i try and download them

sic

[Maiden88]

well ;I live in algeria its far far far away from anything metal ,if it wasn't for free downloading i would never know those great bands + as most of the ppl said here they get really rich of touring ,and believe me if they lost as much they say they did they wouldnt be doing it anymore(making music).

[LazyLatinoRocke]

Maiden88 wrote:

well ;I live in algeria its far far far away from anything metal ,if it wasn't for free downloading i would never know those great bands + as most of the ppl said here they get really rich of touring ,and believe me if they lost as much they say they did they wouldnt be doing it anymore(making music).

I can't find any good artists in my city. Only the usual rock artists. Nothing underground. No metal bands except for Metallica, Megadeth and Testament but none of the albums I want.

[livewire3030150]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Dude the economy is in a shithole.Bands might make a hell of alot of money from touring and all but all in all they need what little money they make from cd sales(if they make any at all that is.)im sure they have families they have to support

[a7xrocks666]

i would never have discovered most of my favorite bands if i had to pay for their music, so if there was no free downloading i probably wouldn't listen to any music at all.

[kingurth]

How much more vague can you get with a headline? What, like the "music industry" as a whole can just come out with a statement?

[tomin8r]

insurgentsteve wrote:

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

whatever it is, im gonna download it.

[srvkicks@$$]

hey phonographs went out of style 70 years ago
so why is the International federation phonograph industry messing with MP3 file downloads we are not copying old records

[srvkicks@$$]

livewire3030150 wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Dude the economy is in a shithole.Bands might make a hell of alot of money from touring and all but all in all they need what little money they make from cd sales(if they make any at all that is.)im sure they have families they have to support

well say the cost of touring and the record company is 75% well if a four person band's new album sells 1 million albums and gets 2.5 million itunes downloads
that band gets 62,250 dollars each and you also can tack on at least 25 grand each for touring
they overall get 87,250 each
after about 3 albums they can buy an upper middle class house in san diego with nice stuff inside
so livewire you say these ppl have families to feed you dont understand that one " kind of popular band" makes a shitload of money

[urrynater86]

Downloading music is awesome. Record labels need to die. The singer from Protest the Hero encourages people to pirate their CD because they're probably getting ****ed by Vagrant. The only people that seem to complain are people with too much money already... Metallica and other top 40's and labels. Fuck em all.

[allfooie]

Magero wrote:

The industry was way too behind on the entire idea. They had no clue and now they've lost it. People will always download music and if you talk to the artists, 90% of them couldn't give a shit. The only people who make money out of album sales are the labels. I like buying CDs because it feels better, but at the prices they are, with the lack of funds I know will go to the band, it's not worth it most of the time.

you're a fool

[axejam123]

littleleo88 wrote:

The report states that the IFPI removed three billion links to such files in 2008, up from 500,000 in 2007.

so what they are saying is, that someone actually counts the difference between 3,000,000,000 and 2,999,500,000.
what a joke.

Dude, they mean an increase of 2,000,500,000. If they meant what you said, it would read "An increase OF 500,000."

And bands need some way to support themselves, so they have to sell a product. Even if they're not in it for the money, they have to make SOME cash in order to pay the rent and buy gear. Otherwise, every musician would have to be a part-time musician, and then music wouldn't be as good.

[Smithsc]

SilverSpurs616 wrote:

Lapidus wrote:

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

The heck you talking about?

WTF? this makes no sense

[mashedpotatoes]

95% illegal downloads reduced to 0% illegal downloads would give bands twenty times as much profit...

[_A.D.I.D.A.S._]

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/industry_news/95_of_teen agers_illegally_copy_music.html

Notice something? The same number? This statistic is a lie.

[St.Loony]

The reason I download is becasue the bands I want areso damned hard to find around here. I can't even find a metallica CD yet alone Haste the Day.

[Fender6]

Can the government track this?:

Going to Projectplaylist.com, listening to a song, going to the original page the song is located, input the URL above the page into the URL box, and saving the page.

That is how I get free music. (not full albums, I'm not that greedy).

[joker_thief]

i thought the P in IFPI stood for 'pornographic'. teehee

[bananaboy]

Look at any band that puts on a really good live show---The Allman Brothers, Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Pearl Jam, Phish, Bruce Springsteen, hell, The Rolling Stones, and so on. They're the ones least affected by all this, because they make money from touring.

Albums should be made to promote live music, not vice versa.

checked.

keep it civil

[TheCyanideFire]

omg i thought john kennedy was dead

[pinksalmon]

I say every concert ticket should come with a code to download the bands entire discography.

Recording and distributing has become easy and affordable so the middle men are terrified because they are no longer needed.

[g1asseye]

You lot need to stop talking about how it hurts the "artists" here.

Its the labels that it hurts and its them that are crying about it.

They couldn't give a crap about the fans supporting the artists so long as they have the money to buy a new ferrari each day.

The moral of this story is don't illegally download unsigned bands' stuff and go and see the big guys on tour!

[Gromlich]

Paul DB wrote:

...this is what we're worried about? In a world where people are dying in the thousands in Gaza and the economy is going to potty, the government launches a three-year investigation on the state of the music industry?

Music means ALOT more to me then people dying pointlessly across seas, thats their choice and to put it frankly i dont give a crap.. music is life

[Dionietzsche]

This basic sentiment has been echoed by a lot of free music haters: "Without the record labels, how will my shitty garage band become an overproduced, untalented international phenomena?!" I have two answers: 1) As long as word of mouth still exists there will probably be big acts. Without the record companies the only profound difference would be that these musicians would be chosen by the people, rather than a bunch of out-of-touch fat cats manipulating naive artists and consumers for financial gain. 2) Assuming the whole rock star thing becomes a thing of the past, well, so what? Its not necessary and often detrimental to the creation of great music. Maybe attendance at local shows would go up. Maybe that money being lavished on pampered prima donnas could end up going into some service that actuals helps our world. Maybe music would once again be recognized for its cultural rather than commercial value.

WAKE UP! You don't need them but they need you.

[DeAd-RiP]

Escalier wrote:

ok, on one side: people who tout their illigal downloading as a saintly thing to to, what with all their exposure (sarcasm included)

and: those who abide by the law and take the time to do something right.

and stop saying all the figures the band could make. first, many of you probably have no idea. second, i have heard not a squeak from the bands. this is all record execs. stuff. thirdly, how hard can it really be to pay for a cd? c'mon. really.

how hard how hard.... lesse being a metal head, Its very difficult to find decent record stores that stock metal albums that are worth the effort, Being an avid supporter of the local scene its twice as difficult then being under 18 because i lack the resources to order online at will.

Those two things and the fact that I would much rather spend money on gear and resources for actually PLAYING music myself as well as recording so i can get my various ideas out into the public... FOR FREE might I add. Anyway why don't all these musicians supposedly out of pocket do what every other musician does when money is required TEACH TO MAKE SOME GOD DAMN DOUGH!

nuff said :p

[xcmasta91]

maybe if most music didnt suck nowadays then maybe we would buy it instead of download it

[Fera_rawr]

xcmasta91 wrote:

maybe if most music didnt suck nowadays then maybe we would buy it instead of download it

Why waste time downloading it then?, also writing music is their job you wouldn't like it if you worked all week to find that the boss wasn't going to pay you.
The worlds full of cheapskate bastards that look for stupid excuses not to pay and that xcmasta is a perfect example of what i mean. btw i hope all of you with illegal downloads have faults with every computer you buy from now on xD

[-blaze-]

Fera_rawr wrote:

Why waste time downloading it then?, also writing music is their job you wouldn't like it if you worked all week to find that the boss wasn't going to pay you.
The worlds full of cheapskate bastards that look for stupid excuses not to pay and that xcmasta is a perfect example of what i mean. btw i hope all of you with illegal downloads have faults with every computer you buy from now on xD

Ever thought that some countries just don't have the capacity to pay 20USD a CD? For me, it would cost me 60MYR for ONE CD. I can afford to buy a really good that i like album once in a while, but dollar for dollar, would you pay 60USD plus import tax for a CD?

[-blaze-]

really good album that i like*

[Supersonic64]

i believe in supporting my bands by buying their albums online and physically.

[RUSTDOGG666]

so what?

[blaghostbla]

Gromlich wrote:

Paul DB wrote:

...this is what we're worried about? In a world where people are dying in the thousands in Gaza and the economy is going to potty, the government launches a three-year investigation on the state of the music industry?

Music means ALOT more to me then people dying pointlessly across seas, thats their choice and to put it frankly i dont give a crap.. music is life

Spoken like a true person who's never had to fight in combat.

[FinderofNemo]

I'll download an album and if I like it enough I'll go ahead and buy the CD. If I don't, then I'm not gonna want to support the sales for that album, so I'm not gonna go buying it. That's all I have to say.

[demondown666]

you people say you download it to see if you like it and then you'll buy it? hahaha if you already have it you wont buy it. i dont.

[demondown666]

blaghostbla wrote:

Gromlich wrote:

Paul DB wrote:

...this is what we're worried about? In a world where people are dying in the thousands in Gaza and the economy is going to potty, the government launches a three-year investigation on the state of the music industry?

Music means ALOT more to me then people dying pointlessly across seas, thats their choice and to put it frankly i dont give a crap.. music is life

Spoken like a true person who's never had to fight in combat.

hehe kudos

[Feel bad inc.]

id say at least 80% of that is singles. People just dont wanna pay for something they dont know will be good. They dont wanna listen to the radio when you have ipods which you can listen to what you like anytime without having to listen to adds between every song.
The music industry needs to find a new way of attracting customers, such as free singles perhaps? I dont buy singles, bands like dare I say coldplay and such have the right idea by releasing a song or two off their album for free and giving the people a chance to decide what they want to buy.

[Rockstar729]

I personally don't think it's that big of a deal... I mean, it lets people listen to what they're like. I download, and if I like a band enough, I'll support them by buying their CD, going to a concert, that wouldn't happen if I don't hear it first...

[sgguitarplayer1]

shut down limewire, 90% gone. or if you know people who do use limewire illegaly report them and then they'll have a huge fine and it'll be funny its good revenge on someone you hate lol

[DimeLvR]

Why would I buy a CD if I only liked 1-2 songs on it? I prob would have bought the new G n' R CD if i didnt DL it first and realized how bad it was. Besides do you know how many Blank CD's I can get for the price of a one of theirs? 100's. Now bands I like on the other hand I buy their CD's and go to their shows. I would be more supportive if they gave the bands at least 50% of the CD profits but they dont so I wont.

[Beachmonkey124]

Let's be honest. I've downloaded some cds myself. But I'm just a kid without a job. I don't have enough cash to buy cds, so I download them. I do buy them when I can though.

[SirAllan]

Music fans Claim 95 Percent of Music Industry Should Start Supporting Music Worth Buying

[xMeowmixx]

DIY (do it yourself) is the way to go.

Go to shows. Buy merch. Bands make nothing off of CDs sold in stores and barely make a profit off selling on iTunes.

[dogmax]

SO, WE CAN ALL CONCLUDE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS STUPID.

[cena_911]

wtf... they're still making billions whats to complain about.

[drewsy]

since when was it about the money if i see a cd i like at ten bucks il buy it id waste my whole pay check which isnt much and i would have no idea half the bands i like exsist if there was no downloads stop gettig cranky and go on tour (including australia dam it) sell more tshirt take me to court iv got like nothing lock me up waste tax payers money its not that bad in there but 40 bucks for metallica new album(which isnt that good) is shit ac/dc's came with a tshirt 4 that much so i bought it wats next r they gona arrest me 4 letting the neighbours hear it (even though they hate being woken up at 4 in the morning when i come home pissed)

[MantlePicture]

FearBefore wrote:

Jesstaa wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

Merch sales and endorsements.
Have you seen the price of a tshirt compared to how much it costs to make?
This is about how much money they make through album sales, not how much they need for studio time.

Oh yeah, that's just what we need... More bands whoring themselves out. In your model, the only bands that would be around are corporate *****s and bands with cool t-shirts. In other words, the music would be pushed even more into the background than it already is.

F*cking moron.

[Kikuta]

You wouldn't download a car.

[Josh Shiells]

Lots of people here seem to have the idee that if they download music and the industry dies, then the whole idea of the anti-hero grunge movement comes to life. What a load of shit.

Most people on this site are poser kid metalheads, who can't seem to understand that without the oh-so-evil industry, one of two things will happen, according to what I've read in these comments:

(1) The labels keep all the money. So the bands are poor. Even indie labels have hundreds of thousands of dollars to their names; do you think these poor bands are going to start thier own label? Why would they? Labels release CDs. Nobody would buy the CDs anyway.

(2) In some imagination land, the bands care so much about their fans they all go underground and keep releasing their fucking albums to people there, because without labels there is no advertising or real public exposure.

Record labels are infamous for how they treat the bands.
Yet without those labels, Lamb of God, Trivium, Megadeth, they'd all have desk jobs right now.
Don't bite the hand that feeds you, and spare 25 cents to actually support the bands you pretend to.

[Josh Shiells]

Pardon me -

*idea.

Also...

Oh yeah, that's just what we need... More bands whoring themselves out. In your model, the only bands that would be around are corporate *****s and bands with cool t-shirts. In other words, the music would be pushed even more into the background than it already is.

Bands like food.
Food costs money.

Maybe your favourite band wants to eat?

You're really in no position to call somebody a moron. Learn half of something about which you're actually talking about.

[GS LEAD 5]

that has nothing to do with the actual argument. You still did not contest my main point, which was why should a musician not be allowed to sell their creation, and why do people deserve to have it free? It has nothing to do with how much they make from album sales or how much the musician cares (unless they agree to give it away). If they would make $5 from it, how do you defend taking that $5 they are owed?

Excuse me? No one, NO ONE has the right to sell art! And are you trying to tell me that only the ultra rich can be passionate about music??? But then again, music made for money is no longer art, just a commodity....

And BTW sorry for the attack. Ijust hate those who make music for money.

[Diesk88]

This is ridiculous.

I treat music the same as I treat any other thing you would buy or use. Such as food, bathroom accessories, clothes, car, house ect; just to name a few.

IF I BUY MY MUSIC, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SHARE IT.

When I buy a car, I have every right to let someone else use it. If I have a cake, I have EVERY right to share a slice or two with somebody else, whoever they may be.

File-sharing is correct. When someone buys a song, he/she has the right to share it. It's his. It isn't the property of the "Music Industry".

He/she is not making any sort of profit at all, no financial gain. He/she is just sharing, WHICH HE/SHE HAS EVERY RIGHT TO DO.

That is why I laugh when someone tells me to "buy" a song. As long as the "Music Industry" continues to claim "rights" to someone else's purchase(s), I will NEVER see it as a proper sale.

Sort that shit out first, "Music Industry", before you hassle me any longer. You greedy bastards.

[GS LEAD 5]

that has nothing to do with the actual argument. You still did not contest my main point, which was why should a musician not be allowed to sell their creation, and why do people deserve to have it free? It has nothing to do with how much they make from album sales or how much the musician cares (unless they agree to give it away). If they would make $5 from it, how do you defend taking that $5 they are owed?

And i believe that's why bands stage gigs...besides, downloads help bring them a larger fan following. I would never have heard of OPeth or Arch Enemy if it weren't for torrents. And, you don't GET much in my area,save mainstream stuff like Coldplay. I have seen only one death metal album in the past10 years or so...AND it was in a pretty bad state, with cracks on the jewel case.

[GS LEAD 5]

Bands like food.
Food costs money.

Maybe your favourite band wants to eat?

You're really in no position to call somebody a moron. Learn half of something about which you're actually talking about.

Which is why they tour....

[GS LEAD 5]

Now, let us assume that a band's sells 1 million copies. OK then. Each copy= around $20, let's assume. So, $20 Million. Now, this puts a band in Iron Maiden/Metallica league. So, they'll have 100 concerts a year(Maiden does 200+). A band like that will have minium 10,000 fans(Maiden got 40,000 when they came to India in '07). So, 100 X 10,000. Totalling 1,000,000. $40 each. That totalls $40 million. Now, merch at each concert. Say, 1000 fans per concert buy $40 woth of merch. So, 1000 X 100 X 40 = 4,000,000. 4 illion. So, a total of $44 Million. Oh, and the album sells 1 million only in the first year...most albums do...

CONCLUSION: AN ARTIST WHO WANTS EVEN MORE MUST BE A MONEY MAD WHORE OF THE FIRST ORDER!!! AND MIND YOU, THESE WERE HIGHLY CONSERVATIVE FIGURE!!! THE ACTUAL MONEY FIGURE WILL BE AROUND THE $100-200 MILLION MARK!!!

[GS LEAD 5]

And just who downloads the music of lesser known, local bands? Usually, people buy the albums anyway, and even if they don't, the gigs usually fetch at least 100 people each, each paying $10 (lets assume). At least 75 gigs a year. So, $75,000. Not bad at all....enough to feed a family of ten.

[GS LEAD 5]

This is ridiculous.

I treat music the same as I treat any other thing you would buy or use. Such as food, bathroom accessories, clothes, car, house ect; just to name a few.

IF I BUY MY MUSIC, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SHARE IT.

When I buy a car, I have every right to let someone else use it. If I have a cake, I have EVERY right to share a slice or two with somebody else, whoever they may be.

File-sharing is correct. When someone buys a song, he/she has the right to share it. It's his. It isn't the property of the "Music Industry".

He/she is not making any sort of profit at all, no financial gain. He/she is just sharing, WHICH HE/SHE HAS EVERY RIGHT TO DO.

That is why I laugh when someone tells me to "buy" a song. As long as the "Music Industry" continues to claim "rights" to someone else's purchase(s), I will NEVER see it as a proper sale.

Sort that shit out first, "Music Industry", before you hassle me any longer. You greedy bastards.

And I fully agree....what the hell are we paying for then? The right to pay for stuff owned by someone else?

[Ulalume]

And of course the "music industry" has no bias at all in their claims. These are the same people wanting to sue the ass off of everyone who illegally downloads. Music needs to be made accessible for people to know what is going down on an album. Even samples don't do any justice. I buy CD's at FYE and get pissed off that I get 10 second samples of each song, and half of the time they're so random that in a matter of 10 songs I only get to hear the vocals once.

[Teh Skisgaars]

I buy all my music
havent downloaded in 5 years
i think its wrong to be in such support of the band yet illegally download their music
thats not being a true fan
when metallica got leaked
it was hell for me
i waited so long and purchased it legally
many times

[Burney123456789]

why dont they just shut down all the download things like limewire, ares, mininova etc?

[PirateBoy]

Rockon914 wrote:

i hope the music industry dies.

And What Then? We Live In A World Where There Is No Music?

Get Lost.

[MiniMusicMasta]

I download loads and loads of shit.

If I think a band is worth my money, I'll go see them on tour.
A band gets very little money on CD sales, but a hell of a lot through touring, advertising and sponsorship.

[Deadwalker]

They're making life hard for us honest pirates

[rizo299]

Free file sharing is here to stay and there's literally nothing they can do to stop it. If they only had the sense to stop clinging to old business models major record labels might actually survive the next 10 years.
Someone who downloads a bands music probably wouldn't have bought it any way but now they have it there's a good chance that they'll go to see them live or buy a t-shirt. Record companies should have expected this as a natural result of their massive over pricing of CD's. The cost of manufacturing a CD is negligible these days and yet they mark such a huge profit margin on top it's no wonder people look for a free alternative.

The biggest consumers of music are teens and students, i.e. people who can hardly afford to buy music. They're treating their market like criminals and alienating them rather than attempting to appeal to them. It's stupid that it's taken so long for them to stop making all mp3 downloads have copy prevention on them. because all that happens anyway is that one person buys the cd and rips it without copy protection and shares it around.

If I remember correctly, at 99p per track download it would cost around £30,000 to fill a 160gig ipod.

tl;dr

The music industry is facing a shift as big as the one that occurred when the gramophone was first invented. And like the piano manufacturers and the sheet music companies of the time, those who refuse to adapt will vanish.

[boyan89]

No way.

[sfaune92]

when bitching bitch-pop artists stop selling and and metal/rock comes out to the stores.... then i buy my music.

Birch-pos = britney spears, beyonce, etc. (i hate such)

[wildchild6660]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Actually its usually the record companies that bitch about it. I've heard that most bands make mos of their money from touring. But I have no way of confirming it.

[sfaune92]

*pop

[wildchild6660]

demondown666 wrote:

you people say you download it to see if you like it and then you'll buy it? hahaha if you already have it you wont buy it. i dont.

I downloaded green day's american idiot, liked it and downloaded it. Bought metallica's st. anger (sucker, aren't I?) without even checking it out and was dissappointed. Yes there are actually peolple who will buy an album they like.

[skateordie24f]

i just buy shitloads of CDs

[skateordie24f]

If I remember correctly, at 99p per track download it would cost around £30,000 to fill a 160gig ipod.

shit.

[FretboardToAsh]

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

lucky guy I can't report you

[stimpy1448]

Teh Skisgaars wrote:

I buy all my music
havent downloaded in 5 years
i think its wrong to be in such support of the band yet illegally download their music
thats not being a true fan
when metallica got leaked
it was hell for me
i waited so long and purchased it legally
many times

Yeah but you forgot that true artists don't feel their art has to be sold for the sake of making money, other than for the reason to make a comfortable amount of money to continue their trade and live, if their art becomes their source of sustinence. Do you think that Leonardo da Vinci would be happy that someone other than himself was receiving a profit from selling tickets to see the Mona Lisa? In the instance of Metallica, I would totally be fine (reluctantly) if they managed all of their profits themselves, if they felt that their work was of fine enough quality, even if it were still selling out. But I think it's crap that people that don't really assist in the production (live/studio) of the art itself can really make a profit.

Artists today need to follow the trend and learn to be self-sufficient if they feel their talent is good enough to be showcased in such a large scale. Trent Reznor is a good example here.

Does Metallica really need that much more money? They could've easily given this album away damn nearly for free. No talent should be worth such outrageous amounts of money so that people can't afford to experience it, even if it does involve a talent that peaked around 1985 and they tried to recreate. :

Get comfortable ($$$) off of your talent (if you need to), and get humble.

[Alfredo_Flores]

I don't care if the Music Industry Dies.

As long as Metal stays alive.

Viva el Metal!!!! lml

[BlackandSilver]

I buy merch to support bands. CD's are so overpriced and they go to the label that barely needs the money it recieves anyway.

[MRavioli]

"The International Federation of the Pornographic Industry claims that 40 billion porn files were downloaded in 2008."

That's what i read. my version seems more true though

[guitarkid583]

NEWS FLASH

"Music industry claims 95 per cent of all people who download are in league with Satan"

[slashe50]

JuicyFrets

...Pirated=Illegal, Often not very good audio quality, no extras

You kidding? Often times pirated music is better quality than cds. I've gotten 320 kbps loads of times.

[slashe50]

Plus I get lots of bonus tracks too.

[CHOCOmoney]

buying music doesnt support the band, it supports the label. bands make a negligible amount from record sales, most of their money comes from touring. And half the bands make so damn much, they don;t need half of what they make. And the labels are already rich, but insist on selling at ridiculous prices. And most people wouldn't get music if they couldn't get it free, so if they actually have the music theyll probs see a show or buy some merch.

[FlyingPirahna]

I'm guilty of downloading more songs than bullets that hit 50 Cent, but generally, if I like the music, I'll go out and buy the CD, and buy the next album I'm interested in by the band without downloading it in advance. I think having something physical to enjoy while listening to the music is so much more fun than playing a lower quality MP3 that I could lose should my computer go haywire.

[<Paper Cuts>]

tomin8r wrote:

insurgentsteve wrote:

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

whatever it is, im gonna download it.

And I'm going to download it illegally.
POWER TO THE SHIT ECONOMY!

[slaygod666]

why do not the bands that r big pay for there own labels and cut out the greedy bums that run it all? then free dl can feel safe plus bands need to pull together now once an for all. lol ppl r just saying the same thing over an over on this article about how the bands make money. listen for free or pay what is the f'n problem here not everyone is a saint or sinner lol go figure.

[PaperSun]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Nine Inch Nails released a full album online for free.

[fallofthesystem]

i download music frum mp3raid.com.....is dat illeagal??

[Randaman]

fallofthesystem wrote:

i download music frum mp3raid.com.....is dat illeagal??

Does it bring you happiness, in any way, shape or form? If so, then it is most likely illegal.

[Ikonoklast]

They're just complaining cause the board members are down in profit. Once again business controls politics.

[David_Bowie=GOD]

i think illegal downloading is a great way to discover new bands you wouldn't discover otherwise.

what i usually do is if i hear about a band ill download a few songs, and if i like it i go out and buy the album. if i dont though, im not gonna waste my money. im not about to go through itunes, listen to a 30 second preview and base my purchase on that.

id rather own a cd than pay 4 dollars less for the same album but only downloaded on my computer. i like owning a physical copy.

[ShadowsThatMove]

PaperSun wrote:

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

Nine Inch Nails released a full album online for free.

and it was terrible.

[Dionietzsche]

Josh Shiells wrote:

Lots of people here seem to have the idee that if they download music and the industry dies, then the whole idea of the anti-hero grunge movement comes to life. What a load of shit.

Most people on this site are poser kid metalheads, who can't seem to understand that without the oh-so-evil industry, one of two things will happen, according to what I've read in these comments:

(1) The labels keep all the money. So the bands are poor. Even indie labels have hundreds of thousands of dollars to their names; do you think these poor bands are going to start thier own label? Why would they? Labels release CDs. Nobody would buy the CDs anyway.

(2) In some imagination land, the bands care so much about their fans they all go underground and keep releasing their ****ing albums to people there, because without labels there is no advertising or real public exposure.

Record labels are infamous for how they treat the bands.
Yet without those labels, Lamb of God, Trivium, Megadeth, they'd all have desk jobs right now.
Don't bite the hand that feeds you, and spare 25 cents to actually support the bands you pretend to.

1)Who cares? If money is your primary motivation here you don't deserve it. Why would a band need to start their own label? That doesn't even make sense; music would be released online, people would download it if they wanted to. Get your mind off the money and you'll understand.

2)Once again you aren't making sense. If a band is big they can'tgo underground. Its not like people are going to forget they exist just because the music industry falls. The internet takes care of advertising and public exposure, easily, and a band that garners a decent amount of money can find other ways to advertise as well. The industry is worse than corrupted; its also obsolete.

I would be very happy if those bands you mentioned were working desk jobs. Just an opinion, metal isn't my thing. If a band isn't passionate enough to work and play music then they are lazy and I don't want to hear them whine; go the distance or don't, nobody said it would be easy. Bands will still be able to make ridiculous amounts of money, maybe even more, given that any kid with a computer can hear their songs and people will use the money they used to waste on CDs on concert tickets.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you? We are the hand, and they have been biting us for years. Fuck them. I have no idea where you got 25 cents from, as song downloads are a buck a pop. In fact, nothing about your argument really made sense.

[x_live4guitar_x]

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

They're not sure what their theme song is. Limewire had it titled wrong...

[edgeyyz]

SilverSpurs616 wrote:

Lapidus wrote:

Car sales are hitting an all time low... because people download cars from the internet?????

The dinosaurs from the music industry are gonna eat their meteor, RIP.

The heck you talking about?

yeah that's what i was thinking

[fallofthesystem]

if the sites u download music from r illegal, then y doesnt the govt. get rid of da sites?

[rockonneil]

The government will never catch up to illegal downloads. The same way your virus protection needs to be updated for new strains the government will have to continually update legislation and methods of anti-piracy.

On a side note, I would not have as large a music collection if not for illegal downloads. We can't rely on the radio to expose us to new music- but I will never buy music from a band I've never heard. Downloading exposes bands to the world in ways that no other form of media can. For all the artists that are losing money in record sales to downloading there are another 10 that are given the chance to tour and make some money with their music.

[fallofthesystem]

The government will never catch up to illegal downloads. The same way your virus protection needs to be updated for new strains the government will have to continually update legislation and methods of anti-piracy.

On a side note, I would not have as large a music collection if not for illegal downloads. We can't rely on the radio to expose us to new music- but I will never buy music from a band I've never heard. Downloading exposes bands to the world in ways that no other form of media can. For all the artists that are losing money in record sales to downloading there are another 10 that are given the chance to tour and make some money with their music.

that is true.....and u do make a good point.

[SurfinWithSatch]

I find it funny how people can say that CDs are overpriced. Believe it or not but recording an album is NOT cheap. Also consider this, how many of you have had a meal at a restaurant, it doesn't even have to be a fancy restaurant, just average, more often than not you will be paying more than the cost of a CD for a simple 1 hour or so's pleasure, whereas a CD will last you a life time.
For me buying a CD is a mark of respect to the artist(s) who spent a lot of time/energy/money creating the music. I ONLY download things illegally if I am also going to buy the CD, for instance I don't have the money to buy the whole Joe Satriani back catalogue in 1 go, so I download it and then pick up the CDs 1 by 1 over time.

[fallofthesystem]

u know someone is gonna hack itunes to make it so that instead of buying music u can get it 4 free directly from itunes. ma friend did dat 4 me on ma ipod touch. by the way...100% legal.

[pantericadeth]

Do they not realize the exact same thing has been going on for a long time? Hell my mom said she used to record the radio onto cassettes and get the music free that way. The technology has just improved a little since her day. The record button turned into a download button.

[fallofthesystem]

see, because of things like this, this is how i got my name as fallofthesystem=fall of the govt.

[proguitarist11]

Phe4rTheGod wrote:

I think Amazon has the right idea...let people SAMPLE free music, and if you like it, buy it...it makes no sense to 'support' a band and steal from them or their labels...

Speaking of that, I turned down getting a copy of LOG's new album, I think it's gonna be worth the wait for it to come out...

ok ****in ghandi. you want a cookie or something? i dl music and idgaf..
suck it

[-heartbreaker-]

No one has the ****ing time or effort or money to buy all the music they like, and how would you have the desire to spend money on an album unless you've heard it and liked it?
I usually download everything I have, but then go out and buy it on vinyl if I like it enough.

Vinyl will kill digital music oneday.

[-heartbreaker-]

fallofthesystem wrote:

u know someone is gonna hack itunes to make it so that instead of buying music u can get it 4 free directly from itunes. ma friend did dat 4 me on ma ipod touch. by the way...100% legal.

That's like saying getting your friend to break into a record store and steal music for you is "100% legal"

[fallofthesystem]

i say its 100% legal cause da govt. dosent no.

[fallofthesystem]

or i think they do know but dont pay mind 2 it

[Philly080]

FearBefore wrote:

It took them 3 years to figure this out...?

Honestly, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that "illegal music downloading" is in fact illegal >_>

[dsotm73]

file SHARING isnt illegal. that's why its called SHARING. one person would have actually had to buy the music for the rest of us to SHARE. goddammit, music industry, didn't your mothers ever teach you sharing is caring?

[JessicaGonzo]

load of bull. this has been going on forever, and its never gonna change. they should just except and make there mooney off of tours and merch. But i bought 4 CDs last year so im not that bad of a band "supporter"

[Duskulblaka]

"phonographic" makes me think of old ladies and those wind-up record players.
At any rate, I enjoy having hard copies of my cds. The bands I really like and try to support and all...not only are you getting the real thing, but you can take in all the smaller details of the album like the art and all the band's thanks. iTunes (and digital stuff) is nice and all, but with it you never truly see your collection grow...you're just scrolling longer. And you can't see all the stuff I mentioned before. With cds its like "I had 3, but now I have 50!"

[COBHC145]

Honestly, i am trying, but i find it very hard to feel sorry for the music industry.

really, who cares? any artist whos actually serious about music and not just trying to make money just wants their music to be heard. the record labels are the problem. heck i bet artists could post their music online, w/out a record label and eventually have the same reception they would w/ one, minus all this crap.

[David_Bowie=GOD]

dsotm73 wrote:

file SHARING isnt illegal. that's why its called SHARING. one person would have actually had to buy the music for the rest of us to SHARE. goddammit, music industry, didn't your mothers ever teach you sharing is caring?

if you believe sharing is caring applies to everything, i hope you dont have a terrible STD

[headbanger703]

Wow, i would be so poor if i actually bought all my music haha

[slipmaggot93]

FearBefore wrote:

Mr Maggot wrote:

I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Amen. So many bands claim that music is about giving the fans what they want. If that was true, they wouldn't care about the money.

so lets all work and make a living without getting paid!

[slipmaggot93]

fallofthesystem wrote:

if the sites u download music from r illegal, then y doesnt the govt. get rid of da sites?

because the government doesnt have a magic wand to fix everything. now go away you don't know what your talkinga bout. at all.

[squierstratcat]

if that was true then how are 95% of bands still around?

[mojomike]

dancesisidance wrote:

Here comes a tonne of comments by people that illegally download pretending the have morals and saying they wouldn't ever download.

Ha./

I hope that your not insisting that you indeed have morals and don't download illegally. Because then I'm sure you would see the irony in that post

[dixie_nourmous]

Jesstaa wrote:

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

they shouldnt be paid for studio time... its their choice to e in there recording. if they wanted to they could just leave

checked.

[BassFishin]

So i just bought this album. It's awesome. Hey, you wanna listen to it? Here, i'll let you borrow it...oh wait, i can't, that's ILLEGAL!

[metallicasilay]

It seems a lot of people aren't supportive of the music they like.

Mr Maggot :
I Have a Solution!!!

No one would download them illegaly if they were free in the fist place.

Problem Solved.

Well artist(s)/label need to make cd sells: first to keep on the label, and the label need the funds to pay for the musicians studio time, production of the cd, and etc.

dixie_nourmous :
Jesstaa wrote:

So how exactly are they supposed to pay for studio time, gear, touring expenses and all the rest, huh? They need this money, and anything extra they deserve.

they shouldnt be paid for studio time... its their choice to e in there recording. if they wanted to they could just leave

Ok it's their choice to be in the studio yes, but do you even know that studio time is very expensive. I don't think they can fund the studio time with what they make on tour/merchandise. They have to pay off all the other expensives of touring. This is like saying you might as well not form a band to create music for others to enjoy.

A lot of these bands worked/tour their asses off to get where they are, and I'm sure most don't appreciate people getting their hard work for free. Many of you who support downloading music, how would you feel to work free and not get paid? I can understand being able to sample parts of the songs like on itunes, and etc. to see if you want to buy a whole album.

[nick_b]

insurgentsteve wrote:

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

i read it as the International Federation of the Pornographic Industry
i was going "hmm, this could be an interesting article.. =P

[uncballer11]

hawk_kst wrote:

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals
Opposed to the straight homosexuals...

wow. quite clever indeed.

[Shaggadellicfuz]

People aren't buying music when they can get it for free, even faster? I'M SO SURPRISED!

If a band isn't getting album sales, that means they'd have to go on tour. A lot. God forbid a famous musician has to WORK for a living...

[Shaggadellicfuz]

At some point, all of you should get together and agree on what the **** reality is.

[kmax1189]

insurgentsteve wrote:

"International Federation of the Phonographic Industry"

Sounds like a group of lame superheroes. I wonder what their theme song is...

If they have one ima download it!

[Peow]

WEll if they'd take off that damn DRM. I suppose amazon doesn't have that do they?

Also, It's hard to find any decent music in stores these days. I can't find a single dream theater album, procupine tree album, and only the popular Rush albums. At least in Central Illinois its that way. The only Neil Young cd's are the greatest hits ones.

Also, for the more popular music, I'll download a song or two and if I like it(which is often the case) I'll go out and buy it if I can find the CD. Simple as that.

[FerretBob]

I own every Iron Maiden and Nightwish album & most of The Cure, W.A.S.P. and Moonspell's.

All of these bands I downloaded the first ten or so tracks illegally. I downloaded Moonspell's entire debut album, Wolfheart, by mistake. See that? I would never have even heard of them if I didn't make a mistake and click on the wrong button when illegally downloading.

I think part of the problem is that, in England at least, CDs et cetera cost too much for what they are. I prefer to have the CD but paying between £13-20 for a new album seems ridiculous. I usually end up buying albums much later when they show up in Tesco for a fiver or online and I'm always unsure how much of that money goes near the band.

What would probably sort a lot of that out would be if the record label didn't take so much of the money from album sales. Pump it straight into the recording fees, then pay the artist and label percentages from the profit.

[Rodders]

Everyone here seems to think they're so special that they can afford not to buy a bands CD and just download it instead. CD's aren't that expensive for what you get, about a quid or just over for each track usually, and CD's by favourite artists can can really only be released once a year each (and that's pushing it). Just don't buy every album you hear of, listen to the music you actually have rather than constantly getting new ones - a tenner every couple of weeks isn't too much is it? If it is then I suggest you get a job.

[kfong03]

1. download the music
2. if it's good, buy it and support the artist

[Leanland]

95%?? more like 99%!!

I download first.. and buy it on CD IF i like it..

[virtussilex]

euan_soad wrote:

Well I claim 95% of IFPI are gay homosexuals

can you be gay without being homosexual xD ?

[Josh Shiells]

Why is it people here believe shit like the fact that most money in CDs goes towards the label, but then think that all the money made touring goes to them?

Do a search.
Before this post, ONLY 1 PERSON has used the word 'sponsor'.

[virtussilex]

David_Bowie=GOD wrote:

dsotm73 wrote:

file SHARING isnt illegal. that's why its called SHARING. one person would have actually had to buy the music for the rest of us to SHARE. goddammit, music industry, didn't your mothers ever teach you sharing is caring?

if you believe sharing is caring applies to everything, i hope you dont have a terrible STD

That was beautiful ^^

[HammerForce]

I personally only ever buy second hand cd's, usually of bands that I can't download stuff from. I usually buy my cd for about £5 from a second hand music shop, then sell it back to the same shop for £1/2 when I've ripped the whole thing to my hard drive.

Much better way of doing things I think, some poor sod has paid the full amount-record companies get their money- they then re sell the album, the 2nd hand store re sells it, I re sell it, maybe 4 or 5 people end up getting that same album for £3/4 each, winner = second hand music shop

[phenom1991]

Eternium wrote:

undeadcorpse wrote:

i believe downloading music is wrong and makes it harder for the bands if no one is actually paying to listen to then, but the record labels steal so much from the bands also they can be just as bad as a percentage of fans downloading instead of buying...
The underground has exploded because of downloading and the Internet. Now these bands are getting popular and making money touring with bigger bands. And it's because few people would BUY an album by a band they've never heard of.

Myspace and YOutube???

Seriosly, there is no excuse like that for downloading. You can have a listen roughly anywhere. I have downloaded a decent amount but some months ago i just decided to stop and that i would buy every CD from now on. On Saturday i made a order of 6 CDs Which btw most of them cost 9€ so don't you people be bitchin about "OMGZ 20$$$$" That's only full priced new CDs and even they are under the 20. I bought about half of the stuff i knew and wanted and half stuff that i am discovering at the moment simply by clicking myself to youtube and ****in myspace. Learn to handle the internet you ****ers!

[Codeman26]

anyone notice the extreme failure in the title.

'per cent' -----> should be one word percent

[SmurphDTOF]

I don't ever download music, I own over 150 albums.

Why download? Where's the album artwork? Where's the actual cd? Where's the case it's presented in? Where's the fun?

Say when The Prodigy's new album comes out, you get a bonus disc, a dvd, all the songs. You also get a case it's presented in, you get artwork, you get a wee booklet thing. When you download you get the songs and a cover. You don't have the physical cd, it's not as cool.
Also, second hand stores are the way to go (in Glasgow) there are two I know of in the city center. Avalanche Records and Missing (one outside central station, and the other queen street.) Both sell really cheap cd's, second hand, but they work perfect.

Y'know what I say? F**k downloading, and f*k the iTunes store (even hough it's legal)!

[TEK34]

I might get sent the occasional song, but I've never downloaded any music. I much prefer having the actual, solid CD. If I want to check out a band, I just head to myspace or youtube, then if they're ok, then I buy the CD. I don't agree with illegal downloading, after all, it is theft.

That being said, CDs shouldn't cost as much as £18.

[metallicasilay]

I rather have a hard copy. CD quality is way better than any downloaded crap. I only download a few songs if the band has one or a few good songs. I usually go check music on myspace or youtube to see if I like most of their stuff. Sometimes I just take a risk and buy the cd anyways without hearing much from it. I bought over 200 albums, and still buying. Unfortunately a couple of years back I had to sell most of them due to my dad. Thankfully I put them on my hard drive before selling them, but I rather have the actual cds back. For the cds I still have and bought between then and now; they sound great in the car. Using a device to play my Ipod in the car; the albums I had to rip before selling don't sound nearly as good as the actual cd.

[primehunter14]

The record labels are crying.... the artists aren't for the most part. The Labels have also taken the copyright from the artists so the artist is powerless..... They don't even own their own music.

[primehunter14]

SurfinWithSatch wrote:

I find it funny how people can say that CDs are overpriced. Believe it or not but recording an album is NOT cheap. Also consider this, how many of you have had a meal at a restaurant, it doesn't even have to be a fancy restaurant, just average, more often than not you will be paying more than the cost of a CD for a simple 1 hour or so's pleasure, whereas a CD will last you a life time.
For me buying a CD is a mark of respect to the artist(s) who spent a lot of time/energy/money creating the music. I ONLY download things illegally if I am also going to buy the CD, for instance I don't have the money to buy the whole Joe Satriani back catalogue in 1 go, so I download it and then pick up the CDs 1 by 1 over time.

Would you buy St. Anger?

[xXxThE_cHaDxXx]

To primehunter ^
No, no I would not not buy Load to St Anger...

About the debate up there about album sales. I'm in small band and we've been touring clubs and stuff... I pretty sure our non-existent label promoted us. We have a fairly large fan base for where we are and what we play (Metal in rural Northern Utah). Now my Uncle's friend has set up a recording studio and a friend of mine (Ex-guitarist of Soldier, they've toured with ****ing Dio) is setting one up... I asked them about indie record sales and shit man, its low. And I asked him about mid-labels and same. Most of your income as an artist comes from touring and endorsements.

And about CDs...
I admit, all of my music is LimeWired. I support every band on my iPod to the fullest, but not enough to give their label $15 for their record. If I paid for every song on my iPod currently I'd owe apple just under $1500... And remember I'm a small musician who works at a small Hot Topic and Steakhouse, so funds are low. Paying rent is hard enough, plus I need guitars, amps, effects, strings. Add food, clothing and hygenic stuff I don't have $1500 to spend in this economy. Just throwing that out ther.

[add_g]

i just buy cds and rip them onto my computer.

[racman92]

xXxThE_cHaDxXx wrote:
About the debate up there about album sales. I'm in small band and we've been touring clubs and stuff... I pretty sure our non-existent label promoted us. We have a fairly large fan base for where we are and what we play (Metal in rural Northern Utah). Now my Uncle's friend has set up a recording studio and a friend of mine (Ex-guitarist of Soldier, they've toured with ****ing Dio) is setting one up... I asked them about indie record sales and shit man, its low. And I asked him about mid-labels and same. Most of your income as an artist comes from touring and endorsements.

And about CDs...
I admit, all of my music is LimeWired. I support every band on my iPod to the fullest, but not enough to give their label $15 for their record. If I paid for every song on my iPod currently I'd owe apple just under $1500... And remember I'm a small musician who works at a small Hot Topic and Steakhouse, so funds are low. Paying rent is hard enough, plus I need guitars, amps, effects, strings. Add food, clothing and hygenic stuff I don't have $1500 to spend in this economy. Just throwing that out ther.

Right, from what I've been told, the only ones that make money off of album sales are the record companies, that the band makes their dough off of merch at shows, endorsements, all that fun stuff. 95% of my library is Torrents. I would never have the money to buy all the music I have , and I could never hope to have as many bands to take influence from if it weren't for the availability for download. but, while I haven't paid for their music, if anyone of the bands on my Zune were to come to town, I would most likely go, probably buy a shirt or something, and therefore supporting them more than I ever could have by paying for their whole discography. but, if you insist on not pirating, then buy the CD at their shows, because thats the only place the band ever makes any real money off of album sales, and you are therefore supporting the band rather than the money grubbing record company that they sold their music to.

[racman92]

lol, I would owe Apple $4200.

[sharyn__x]

haha what do they expect.

anything that can be played on a computer will be stolen.

haha i'd owe $17,875 to apple.

[AlterFridge]

this is ridiculous. they should face it. who really wants to pay for music? i understand how much work and money goes into the album but really unless the album is appetite for freakin destruction half the stuff on it i wont listen to more than once. download it, listen to it, like it or hate it. if you like it, youll pay the 50 bucks to go to the show, youll buy a shirt, altogether its about 75 bucks. by just going to the show your paying for the music you stole anyways.

[KurdtStaley]

Pirating is the future. If bands are truly good they'll still make a very good income from touring, merchandise, and endorsements. All the money from record sales goes to undeserving douche bags anyways. Now they're just butt hurt because the industry is the way it should be, about the music, not the money.