A Music Quandary.

[Snowalker]

So, me and my friend were discussing ripping song to i-tunes. And the question came up "what do you think about ripping songs to a CD then trading it in for trade-in credits?" I personally do not do this for the simple fact that I like album artwork and Cd cases, but I have no problem with it as long as they aren't getting a full refund. My friend disagreed and said that it was the same as Piracy, which we're both guilty of and disagree with at the same time(hypocrisy FTW) I and said that they had paid for them in some manner, so its not the same, and the band is getting paid, provided you bought it new, and returning a 'bought used' item isn't allowed at our local music store, so I saw no qualms with it, yet he still disagreed. So, escapists, what do you think? unmoral, but ok? moral, but illegal? legal and moral? unmoral and illegal? what do you think?

Please none of that, "well its piracy but its a better piracy" crap that arises in every piracy discussion. Its quite irritating.


Edit: since this wasn't very clear, (sorry?) What i'm saying is, buying a new CD, coming home, ripping it to i-tunes, taking it back trading it in for less money than what was initially paid. (much like how Gamestop does game-trades.)

I guess the morality question is a no-brainer, but still, what do you guys think?

 

[Berethond]

Well, I'm pretty sure that does count as piracy.

That said, I like to keep CDs. I like the way they look on my shelf.

 

[OakTaooper]

I had a difficult time following this, but from what I understand (which is very little...) you were asking whether or not buying a CD, ripping the CD's contents onto your PC, then returning the CD is immoral? Well, yeah, I personally think so (if that's what you're asking. If not, please ignore this). But most (do any?) places don't allow CD return for the simple reason that it's all to easy to rip a CD onto your hard drive.

 

[PunkyMcGee]

let me get this straight, you buying the CD putting it on your computer then getting your money back?

I think that is wrong, but i don't know how the law sees it

I have a collection of CD's that is over 200 and counting. also my old computers hard drive crashed i lost the music but still have the hard copies to back it up.

 

[Eumersian]

I buy most of my music off of iTunes now. For the radio station I work at occasionally, I am required no less to rip music onto my computer if they need someone to scan it for swears and stuff. But it's either already paid for by the station, or promotional stuff that wasn't intended for sale anyway.

What you have going on up there is actually quite illegal.

 

[Eumersian]

double post?

 

[Snowalker]

I buy most of my music off of iTunes now. For the radio station I work at occasionally, I am required no less to rip music onto my computer if they need someone to scan it for swears and stuff. But it's either already paid for by the station, or promotional stuff that wasn't intended for sale anyway.

What you have going on up there is actually quite illegal.

Well, like I said, I don't do it myself, and I haven't done straight up piracy in years now. And, I figured since you're not getting the music completely free, it wasn't illegal, but thats not so?

 

[BonsaiK]

what do you guys think?

Completely illegal. No ambiguity here at all.

Whether it's moral depends on your personal morals I guess, but it's absolutely not any less immoral than any other form of piracy.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I buy most of my music off of iTunes now. For the radio station I work at occasionally, I am required no less to rip music onto my computer if they need someone to scan it for swears and stuff. But it's either already paid for by the station, or promotional stuff that wasn't intended for sale anyway.

What you have going on up there is actually quite illegal.

Well, like I said, I don't do it myself, and I haven't done straight up piracy in years now. And, I figured since you're not getting the music completely free, it wasn't illegal, but thats not so?

As a general rule, the law favours business over consumer in these matters.

You shouldn't look to the law(or this forum)for moral guidance. As far as the law is concerned, lending your disc to a friend whilst having it on your hdd is illegal...which is crap, really. This forum is rife with trends too, the popular stance on copyright infringement right now is that you're either squeaky clean, or you're scum...seemingly with no middle ground.

Just make up your own mind.

 

[thedeathscythe]

Your edit makes it make a lot more sense, so if anyone is confused, just read the part he edited in.

Now I think that isn't allowed simply because of piracy and the law and businesses aren't stupid, they've heard of itunes, and they know you can pirate video games, so I'm pretty sure they won't take discounted refunds. They may buy it from you, but again, how many times have you bought a game the day it comes out, totally complete it in two weeks, and try and sell it and the guy at game stop says "yeah, that game is worth $25" when you payed $60 for it just two weeks ago. It sucks that you barely get anything even though it's still new, but they know you could have ripped it, and the pirated copies will be online probably within two weeks so they don't really want to give you a whole lot back for something you may still have in your possession.