Poll: How Do You Justify Music Piracy?

[instantbenz]

So I read that article on anonymous and Gene Simmons, and apparently they (Anonymous isn't really a group, just a bunch of unrelated guys who think its cool to go under the same name) are mad at Gene Simmons for wanting to sue everyone who pirates music, but honestly, I think this would be a good idea. Maybe not everyone, but people who distribute pirated music, sue a bunch of them, and then that will send a good message.

I understand that many musicians are rich and don't 'need' all the money they get but what about newer artists who are just starting out? How about the many people involved in the music making process, there are many people who need to be paid and a lot of people in the music industry have lost their jobs because of piracy.

Also, from the point of view of some guy on a computer, I'm sure its easy to say "I wouldn't care" but if you were really a musician, you would care that people are taking your music which many artists consider a part of them that they spent a LOT of time on, and then people just steal it.

So I wanted to know, with my reasoning in mind, how is piracy of music (We are just talking music) justified and made okay? Do you feel 'entitled' to somebody else's work?

NOTE: I'm not sure how to delete a poll so I just changed it to have no real options because the only thing a poll did was have people answer with no reasoning whatsoever.

cheaper more reliable version without any DRM bullshit to trudge thru > troublesome spendy songs
don't get me wrong, music isn't out of reach price-wise. the problem arises [in this case especially as you've brought Simmons up] when people can't do what they want with something they've purchased. if i purchase an apple and can magically copy it and give copies to whoever i want, would you not feed the hungry?
some people want a song and don't want to deal with credit cards, stores miles and miles away, or silly DRM not allowing them to put the music on multiple players which they likely own.
i find there are a handful of times when it's appropriate. i'm not saying i condone it, just that it makes a little sense from time to time.
plus, all of this drm stuff and netflix [in the movie realm] are approaching a system in which we can't borrow things out to people.
"i saw a great film on netflix the other day, you should check it out" "i don't have netflix" "well too bad i don't have a type of format that you can watch without paying to play" "yes this corporate society we live in is just grand isn't it" "indeed, but at least the artist is getting paid"

 

[Tdc2182]

If I did, I would go with "you can't really steal sounds"

 

[MisterGobbles]

I'd probably justify it as they should be doing it for the art not the money, I wonder how many musicians (and profesional sports players, though not really relevant here) would be still there doing what they do because they love it if they only made minimum wage.

Most musicians don't make jack shit, though. It's only the top few that get extremely rich off of it, and they aren't hurt by music piracy very much at all.

Which is sad cause they are the loudest and most active fighting piracy.

I know loads of bands who don't really give a shit about piracy, they just do it for the music, and they see piracy as a way for more people to hear their music.

for instance *Protest the Hero video* Great musicians, but the song is irrelevant in this discussion, skip to the last 20 seconds.

Not to say i don't support bands like this and pirate their stuff, but for a lot of bands its just about getting people to hear their music. Should also note that many touring bands will make a shit load more from actual touring then record sales.

Have to add that I fucking love Protest the Hero, saw them live not too long ago and it was nothing short of amazing. But I would also bring up that if the band says it's ok, then go for it. Trent Reznor told people living in Australia to pirate one of his albums because he thought it was overpriced in that region. Most artists would rather you pirate their music then not listen to it at all. But I'm sure they'd be very glad if you bought their album, or went to their show, or whatever. They want you to like them, and support them. Especially the Bandcamp bands who just put their shit up for free; they'd be stoked if you gave them a donation.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

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Agreeing with everything you say DaveDude, except about the lesser of two evils part, the whole issue does fall onto the greedy record companies, not wanting to move forward in a world of digital distribution.

Let's look at it like this, we know that artists get an average of 0.02 cents per $30 CD or whatever, because of the airplay / distribution / manufacture / art / printing and everything that goes into the CD, supposedly. Now imagine, if they were willing to make less margin, but still a great profit, by putting all the artists songs online, where everyone can pay and download. You can also sample at a lower rate a short version of the song. Yes, I know iTunes does this, but it can be done even better. How much does this cost, to run a server to download songs from. Not much at all. And it could result in many more struggling, or newer bands to get heard and sell their stuff easily, with more going to their pockets. But the record companies stick to their CD's and DRM and piracy issues because they want to keep making buckets of money as they have in the past, what 2 decades?

Does this justify piracy? Well, nothing justifies depriving the artists of money they rightly deserve. But I think the situation could be improved a lot, however DDoSing Gene's website may not be the right way. But the things he has said about punishing piraters goes a lil bit over the edge. How much does piracy hurt the upcoming musicians? Not much, usually their stuff is harder to get a hold of illegally anyways. And for popular musicians who have their shit being shared all over the place, well they are rolling in cash anyways. Still doesn't justify them not getting paid though.

 

[AgentNein]

Several reasons:

- I don't make enough money to buy music.
- Some of the bands are worth listening to but their overall albums are overpriced.
- The bands themselves don't make any actual money off of the album sales.
- Two bands, one good and one bad, have the same pricetag.
- Just because some random executive wants money doesn't mean he should get it.
- Some artists don't deserve to be given any cash for their lack of artistic motivation.

What Radiohead did was awesome several years back: They let YOU choose the price of their latest album. I am not a fan of the band by any means, but that was a class act on their part.

I do think that this whole issue is very complex, but who do you think you are to say who deserves to get paid for their music and who doesn't?

"Just because some random executive wants money doesn't mean he should get it."?

Just because you want music for free doesn't mean you should get it, does it??

 

[Dys]

I think it's stupid for artists to care. In almost all cases, it's the record companies who are losing money.

As for where I stand, I have no issue pirating from the record companies. I imagine if it were possible for me to steal from them as easily that I'd do that too. Not necessarily because I'd gain something, just so that they get the gist of my general "fuck you" message. I mean, they charge $30 for a cd album....I remember seeing the exact same CDs in a walmart in the USA for something like 16US (which is like 14AU), what fucking assholes :\

I do tend to download or burn cs of a fair amount of music. I'm not going to sit down at a mates place like a chump sorting through his favorite cds trying to determine if I too like them. He burns them for me and I keep what I like.

I actually have a tendency to buy a lot of the music I like when it is reasonably priced and/or available. I can't afford the import or buy all the music I like in one go, but I own the discographies of my favorite bands and will expand my collection as I grow older.

 

[MoD1212]

Yo man I've been making music for free for years now and couldn't can less. granted I'm still in college and I'm not depending on this to support my life yet, but I couldn't be having more fun doing what I've been doing regardless of how much money I've made/loss in the process. the group I'm in has been putting up music for free online just in the hopes that we can build up a fanbase,

The way i see it is I'm still trying to reach my peak, trying to make the best songs i know i can. I also know that I'm not just quite there yet so i don't feel like i should charge people for what i know isn't the best i can do.

If you look at hip-hop the idea of free music is part of the culture. the "mixtape" current of free CD's isn't new and is highly promoted. in fact since the "piracy" craze blew up, i feel like more and more rappers started putting out free mixtapes just to generate buzz with radio play. That's actually how lil Wayne got so big.
regardless of how you might feel about him now, everyone thought he sucked until like 2006-07ish when he just started dropping free mixtape after mixtape (with better raps, mind you) to the point where he can drop a top selling album and sold out shows based of that same mixtape fanbase

just some food for thought

 

[Gorog2]

By being poor as hell
Easy
sad face

 

[Nouw]

Because I usually buy the song later, that's how.

 

[infohippie]

I don't pirate, but I'd make an exception for Gene Simmons' "music" because he's a total cock. I'd do the same for Metallica, for the same reason.

 

[yanipheonu]

Well I'm a big fan of anime, so if there's some anime soundtrack that never came out here then I usually download it. Though I definitely buy it if I can (like I have the Gurren Lagann one, and am hunting down the FLCL osts) Sometimes I HAVE to download it, since there's no chance in hell of getting it legally.

As for normal music... I support it by f34king paying for it. It's only 99/1.29 on iTunes or whatever site you use, so there's not really an excuse. Though I'm really into actually having a copy so I just usually get the CD.

 

[Trolldor]

I like piracy, get cool hats, wooden legs a--- Oh. Nevermind.
Talking about the 'self-entitled little shits' thing again.
Truth is they are self-entitled, but they're not little shits. They don't much think about digital content because so much of it is free. They feel no guilt about getting it for free because it's what they're used to and have been forged to expect.

 

[Ulvai]

Maybe not everyone, but people who distribute pirated music, sue a bunch of them, and then that will send a good message.

RIAA tried it. Didn't work that well.

I understand that many musicians are rich and don't 'need' all the money they get but what about newer artists who are just starting out?

For those - it is free publicity.

How about the many people involved in the music making process, there are many people who need to be paid and a lot of people in the music industry have lost their jobs because of piracy.

Most of this people are paid fixed amount of money. Piracy doesn't affect them.

So I wanted to know, with my reasoning in mind, how is piracy of music (We are just talking music) justified and made okay? Do you feel 'entitled' to somebody else's work?

I don't justify it. I don't condemn it either. Piracy is a result of technologies emerging. It is here to stay. It is up to economists and market experts to find a new business model so they would not suffer losses from piracy, but get profit from it. Monty Python for example upon discovering complete "Life of Brian" and nearly complete "Flying Circus on youtube did not try to delete it. They asked uploader to put a link to their amazon.com page with DVDs. Sales skyrocketed. Thats one way, surely there are others.

 

[ThisIsSnake]

I understand your probably talking about the commercialised crap in the mainstream charts like Bieber and such; I find it annoying that he can sell millions of records whilst more talented, dedicated artists sell much less. Piracy doesn't really come into it though, I'm not going to buy Bieber or Miley Cyrus songs because I don't listen to them. I am going to buy songs by artists I like because in my opinion they both deserve my money and have earned it through hard work.

Are you kidding me? Bieber talentless? He's a very very talented person, BUT the music he currently makes it garbage. I recognize that its generic pop trash, BUT have you seen him play guitar or drums? I think not, and I believe that some day he'll outgrow the teen pop stuff and make some real music in the future.

Look closely, I didn't say talentless. I said commercialised, which isn't quite the same thing. I don't buy much music (I don't pirate either) so if he manages to form a band in a genre I'm particularly fond of that has lyrics on par with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Drums on par with Dream Theater or guitar on par with John 5 I'd give him a chance.

 

[blankedboy]

People that say music isn't expensive are spouting bullshit.
An album costs 20-50 dollars around here. That's not cheap.

It can be justified if it just can't be practically bought anywhere I guess. Like, where the hell are you going to find an Animals As Leaders CD in Tauranga?

 

[Vausch]

I don't own a PS3 and wanted the God of War soundtracks.

 

[luclin92]

i think its less bad when you absoulutely cant find the dam artist in a store.

 

[KnowYourOnion]

If i like the band's music I go out and watch them play, maybe twice if i can, then i buy their t-shirt. This way I can make sure the band gets as much money as possible!

 

[Switchblade1080]

Most of the music I have are the music no one cares about...

 

[SwagLordYoloson]

I was under the impression that musicians made their money from gigs and concerts, not CD sales, isn't that where the record companies make money? a tour of a country like America can earn a musician more money then their CD's will make in the same amount of time.