File Sharing (music)

[Nautilus]

Is this really prevalent still. I read something not too long ago about how this was starting to cause serious damage to the music industry. Is it really just the young people that don't want to spend money on music or is it more the convinience of getting something immediately without any delay?

Either way, from a business side of things this has to have a large impact. Music labels have seen sales slow for a while now and this has to have something to do with it. The digital sales is one thing and the labels are getting into that now too, but the pure distribution for free is nuts. The two-edged sword that is the Internet. :rolleyes:

[Vicky]

I imagine that not only is this still going on, but that it is getting worse daily. It seems that technology has opened the gate to a world where any single audio/video product can get passed around in very usable form to an unlimited amount of people, fast and for free.

Try that with say, groceries? LOL

[Synthpopalooza]

I do not condone filesharing by any means, but I can see why it happens.

I believe a major factor behind it is the fact that the RIAA and the major labels saddle their product, either digital or physical, with a load of DRM restrictions. In effect, they are treating the average music buyer like a criminal. I personally believe that every person who buys a CD or DVD or digital music has the right to make backup copies for their own personal use. Otherwise, your CD gets destroyed, or you lose your files on a HD crash, and have to re-buy your whole collection.

The recent copy protection fiasco with Sony Music Corp. has done nothing to help matters either. Why should the act of playing a CD on your computer result in your computer's security being compromised or a virus being put on your PC?

Having said that, I really have to applaud the actions of indie labels such as A Different Drum and Ninthwave, in that they offer their CD's and digital music without any DRM whatsoever. It shows that they have a great deal of trust in their consumers, not to do anything illegal. And I feel the onus lies with us as consumers, not to betray that trust.

Put simply, support the indie artist and labels and their music! If you find something you like, buy it! Don't burn it, rip it, or fileshare it. A lot of the CD you hold in your hands was financed out of the pockets of these artists. Nothing gives an indie musician more of an ego trip than the feeling that their music is so good, that it touches someone to such a deep extent, that they are willing to pay for it!

[Red and Shiny]

They will never be able to stop someone from taking audio product like a CD and transfering it to a digital non protected file and sharing. The DRM crap just hurts the people that already paid for the damn thing. You can rerecord the product onto something else that is free of protection simply by playin the original CD in any player and feeding the output to a digital recorder or something like that for example.

So what is the point? If their DRM or whatever made that rerecroding impossible then maybe but all that it does now is create a problem for people that pay for the shit.

[AMuse]

I agree that it doen't make sense to force DRM on the product with the many ways to defeat it. Seems that more time should be spent trying to figure out how things are changing in the marketplace and how to align with that better so as to keep up with the trends.

Dunno though.

[Nautilus]

Makes sense. Maybe this is why the tickets to concerts these days are so expensive. The labels are trying to make up the difference in lost product sales. Wonder how the actual artist deals have changed. Are the artists taking the brunt of the business loss?

[robotrock]

File sharing is no doubt hurting the sales of music. Part of the problem is that the industry failed to keep up with the pace of technology. How long were we able to effectively use P2P before Apple finally came along and showed the industry how to sell downloads? (not that iTunes is all that great, but it was the first truly viable business model for such activity.) Interestingly, the industry went through this before, 30 years ago with the compact cassette. I myself have been guilty of file sharing since about 1978, when my friends and I would pass around tapes of obscure punk and metal bands. I believe that entire genres of music (metal, punk, hip-hop, etc.) wouldn't exist today without cassette file sharing as there was no way you were going to hear this music on the radio or MTV and the internet didn't exist yet. So there is SOME value in file sharing for both the fan and the artist. That being said, I, (and many of you) know first hand how expensive and time consuming it is to produce music and get it "market- ready". Additionally, I the music I listen to is made largely by artists outside of the mainstream that are barely managing to make a living off of the music I enjoy so much. Art should be valued and I pay for the music I listen to.

[duhb]

damn robotrock i did not even think of that
all that cassette copying and passing around to friends is the same thing too hahahah
but if you like a band that is not well known you have got to go and buy their music since that is what will keep them making the music no doubt

[AMuse]

Cassettes indeed, good one. Many people forget about that. Back when those were the state of the art in recording and playback the sharing was huge and if one person bought an album they would most certainly just dupe a dozen cassettes for buddies.

[Dusty Chalk]

That said -- do you remember the big warnings, "HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC". Does anyone remember music dying back then? No, it didn't, and I'll tell you why -- because a lot of those people went out and bought the albums eventually anyway (I know I did). Why? Because it was good music, and it was worth buying anyway.

[AMuse]

LOL Didn't that slogan also come with a big sign too. Like a stop or circle with a line through it or something as I seem to recall. But, yea they were yelling "fire" back then too.