To burn or to buy, the age old question...

[Elvis Presley]

So, Im sure weve all debated this very issue with the rise of technology and all.
Its easy to burn your favorite cd weeks or months before its released thanks to file "sharing" and things like this.
I often find myself downloading alot of music and doing my best to try and buy the stuff I really like.
But, when Im short on dough, its alot easier to burn those mp3's dammit!
Is it an ethical question, is it stealing? Im sure we can rationolize it a variety of ways......(they make enough money anyway, the record industry are thieves, etc.)
And while these may be true in most cases, does the artist deserve that cash as a result of thier ability, or the lack thereof........



ok, fight about that please, no eye gouging is all I ask

 

[Edgette]

I tend to buy new CD's that I want to have in my collection. I don't download a lot of MP3's really, but when I do it's from artists that I only like a few of their songs, or certain songs I need to make mix CD's.

I also tend to download songs that are difficult to find on CD. It's amazing what you can find on a source like WINMX.



~J

 

[u2popmofo]

I know what you mean, I try to never download entire albums unless I'm going to buy them. But then I find other cd's I'd rather buy first and I never get around to buying some of them. I personally try to not download entire albums unless I think I may want to buy it. If I end up not wanting to buy it after listening to it for a while, I delete the majority of the songs.

I dont know, I honestly think it is fairly dishonest to download cd's and never buy them if you listen to them often. Should probably buy them if you like it that much. At the same time, I dont have a problem with downloading an album to see if you like it or not. I guess I've seen a lot of people whose entire music collections are burned cd's and I dont really respect them for that. I also find it annoying when you personally just buy a cd and someone immediatly asks you if they can burn it, do they think you bought the cd for them or something?

Honestly, the music industry is kept alive by most of the posters in this forum alone. Who else buys music by lesser known bands and singles/imports? I'm really doubting that your casual MTV music fans are buying that many albums. I've personally only met one person ever who has a cd collection that was comparably as big as mine. I think I use that as an excuse to allow myself to download cd's and check them out every once in a while.

 

[Elvis Presley]

yeah, tough decision really, I too struggle with it, because im addicted to music, and usually kinda broke.

so, I often download whole albums, but I rarely burn them and listening to them on the pc just isnt the same, so if I really like it, I buy it.

half.com has me hooked of late...

 

[martha]

I can't download (Mac Martyr and tech doofus). I don't like the burned cds of commercial releases people have given me. They seem tainted. Burned boots or compilations are fine, though. I'm an old school girl myself; I like to open the new record, look at the liner notes and inserts, and have a pretty new cd to admire and play.

 

[sue4u2]

I love having a new CD to read and listen too, however I've been burned as much by "filler music" as I would burn someone by downloading. On the other hand I've discovered so many other songs that never made it onto the radio or into the main stream. Maybe that doesn't make sense or seem fair since the only one I would want to burn are the CD's I only liked one or 2 songs on. How is it that it never happens to be U2 cd's? There's only been one other group/artist that I have had this expierence with. It's weird.. All that said, when I have my Own computer, I guess I will. (does that make me a bad person?)

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

unless it's a u2 or a pearl jam or the likes, i download and burn first... never the full album though. usually just the first single. if a second single comes out that i like, and there's lots of talk about the album, then i'll go out and buy it. but i've been screwed over by too many crappy albums just because of one good song to just run out and buy right away... so i'm a little bit of both i guess

u2 and pearl jam albums i usually buy the day they come out, without waiting.. that being said, i've usually got half the u2 album on my computer already by the time it comes out thanks to the nuts here on interference and other web pages... but i buy anyway

 

[arw]

Most of the time I download a few songs and if I like those I'll buy the whole album. I like to have the actual CD with the inserts and all so I buy them. Plus the last few CD's I've gotten have come with dvd's and/or access to a web page that's not available without the CD. Nice marketing tool but I like it. I download a lot too but it's just a song or two off of albums, usually songs I liked when they were popular but I just never got around to buying the whole album.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

the only thing I burn are mix cds.

the thing is, i like buying music. i love music, and i'm as flat out broke as everyone else, but i like the feeling of buying music. manic street preachers' james dean bradfield said about downloading albums that "when we were young we wanted to see the artwork, read the lyrics. we think it should be part of the whole experience." I quite feel the same way. I bought Hail to the Thief because I was so guilty for downloading it. It's not the same album without the artwork or the booklet. Also, I felt there were completely no surprises because I had heard the entire thing before.

that said, I have tons of mp3s, probably more than cds. perhaps that is partially due to me ripping my cds into mp3 format (to listen to on the computer). that said, i don't think i've downloaded a full album before other than httt.

 

[Stories for Boys]

if i feel it's a band worth supporting, i buy it. so really, i buy almost every cd i get. really, i'm willing to burn copies of my cds for other people cause it's good music. i'm fairly confident that any discerning music lover will like the artist and buy something. if not, it's still exposure. i do the mix thing too, esp for fun. it's nice to have mixes of good music to toss in the player.

 

[Red Ships of Scalla-Festa]

if i feel it's a band worth supporting, i buy it. so really, i buy almost every cd i get. really, i'm willing to burn copies of my cds for other people cause it's good music. i'm fairly confident that any discerning music lover will like the artist and buy something. if not, it's still exposure. i do the mix thing too, esp for fun. it's nice to have mixes of good music to toss in the player.

 

[Popmartijn]

I can't download (Mac Martyr and tech doofus). I don't like the burned cds of commercial releases people have given me. They seem tainted. Burned boots or compilations are fine, though. I'm an old school girl myself; I like to open the new record, look at the liner notes and inserts, and have a pretty new cd to admire and play.

Martha, I think it's very scary you can read my mind. Those are my thoughts! :eekshock: The only thing you got wrong is the Mac thingie. You don't have to spare my feelings by making this up, I'm not ashamed to admit I have a dial-up at home, so downloading mp3's takes ages to complete.
For the rest, those are my thoughts.

Originally posted by yertle-the-turtle
the thing is, i like buying music. i love music, and i'm as flat out broke as everyone else, but i like the feeling of buying music. manic street preachers' james dean bradfield said about downloading albums that "when we were young we wanted to see the artwork, read the lyrics. we think it should be part of the whole experience." I quite feel the same way.

Exactly. Although I'm not flat out broke at the moment (but have been before) I have to restrain myself when I'm shopping. At the moment I have the problem that I don't have any space to store my CD's. But I like a CD because of the artwork (the whole booklet printed in good quality) and I want to support the artist who created it. That said, I haven't bought an album yet that was released this year. My most recently released album is Pearl Jam's Riot Act (and a few others from 2002).

C ya!

Marty

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

I can't download (Mac Martyr and tech doofus). I don't like the burned cds of commercial releases people have given me. They seem tainted. Burned boots or compilations are fine, though. I'm an old school girl myself; I like to open the new record, look at the liner notes and inserts, and have a pretty new cd to admire and play.

Me too.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I am having a bit of a protest at the moment on the music industry. In Sydney, music chains charge exhorbitant amounts for a single cd new release. The average is around $30-$32, sometimes $35. Thats from HMV and the like. For about $28 give or take, you can find them at K-Mart etc, and sometimes on special. Anyone who buys from the big chains needs their head read as far as I'm concerned.
I do download, only ever single songs of bands I like one or 2 songs that I wont find on the one disc, or bands that I hardly know etc.
So I guess I'm morally reprehensible as I dont buy cd's often and also download. Another reason that I do download, which is worth mentioning and isn't to justify the theft, is that rarely these days does a cd come out that I really want. I'm pretty disappointed with what's around and new at present. If and when any great artist comes out that I simply adore like I have done with my long running U2 thang, I will buy again. But $$$ talks. As does my concience, so I'll do the right thing when it starts being worth it. but until then, I'll listen to what I have, with the occasional d/l here and there.

 

[IWasBored]

I know what you mean, I try to never download entire albums unless I'm going to buy them. But then I find other cd's I'd rather buy first and I never get around to buying some of them. I personally try to not download entire albums unless I think I may want to buy it. If I end up not wanting to buy it after listening to it for a while, I delete the majority of the songs.

I dont know, I honestly think it is fairly dishonest to download cd's and never buy them if you listen to them often. Should probably buy them if you like it that much. At the same time, I dont have a problem with downloading an album to see if you like it or not. I guess I've seen a lot of people whose entire music collections are burned cd's and I dont really respect them for that. I also find it annoying when you personally just buy a cd and someone immediatly asks you if they can burn it, do they think you bought the cd for them or something?

Honestly, the music industry is kept alive by most of the posters in this forum alone. Who else buys music by lesser known bands and singles/imports? I'm really doubting that your casual MTV music fans are buying that many albums. I've personally only met one person ever who has a cd collection that was comparably as big as mine. I think I use that as an excuse to allow myself to download cd's and check them out every once in a while.

100%

(i've met a few people with bigger cd collections than me who work at the campus radio station, but other than that...)

i still look at downloading music as a more convinient form of when you go to a used music store and listen to the cd before you buy it...because how many people listen first to check the quality? i swear more people go into those stores just to sit and listen to music because their bored...but that's another story...and i do download stuff like concert bootlegs, which doesn't even count because it's not like i'm ripping off the artist by not spending money on an unofficial thing in the first place.

i've downloaded three full albums.

coldplay--parachutes. a friend of mine was going to get it for me for my birthday and i honestly couldn't wait until the cd was in my possession, so i downloaded it first. i've got the cd now and all the tracks have been deleted.
radiohead-HTTT. similar story.

then there's greg graffin's solo album...i wanted to see how different it was from bad religion...i would have deleted the tracks and never burned it to a cd had i been able to find a copy of the album somewhere...i'm still looking...i WILL find that someday...i swear i will...

 

[IWasBored]

the only thing I burn are mix cds.

the thing is, i like buying music. i love music, and i'm as flat out broke as everyone else, but i like the feeling of buying music. manic street preachers' james dean bradfield said about downloading albums that "when we were young we wanted to see the artwork, read the lyrics. we think it should be part of the whole experience." I quite feel the same way. I bought Hail to the Thief because I was so guilty for downloading it. It's not the same album without the artwork or the booklet. Also, I felt there were completely no surprises because I had heard the entire thing before.

seriously, sitting down and listening to an album while looking through the booklet is quite possibly my favourite thing in the world. i like the fact that the live bad religion album has the huge detailed description of how it was recorded and where and when everything was recorded. i tend to get really pissed off when bands don't print the lyrics in their booklets



i can't download music for about 4 months out of the year while i'm home (or however long i'm actually home with the university school schdule), and it does bother me to some extent. what i generally do is read things on interference and download a few tracks to see what i like, and then from there buy the albums...i'm insanly broke now so it's probably a good thing it takes 2 hours to download a single song, but my music purchasing has increased since i've been able to download music

there...i think i'm done...

 

[joyfulgirl]

I'm an old school girl myself; I like to open the new record, look at the liner notes and inserts, and have a pretty new cd to admire and play.

As long as I have the money, I buy. If I don't have the money, I just wait until I do and still buy.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Another factor - I think I carry the old-school dial-up mentality. I was on dial-up for several years and it used to take fifteen minutes per mp3, so I would only download four or five at most and then get the CD. Nowadays I have cable but I guess old habits do die hard.

 

[Elvis Presley]

What about live shows? Anyone feel wrong for downloading and burning these?

 

[martha]

If I could, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[IWasBored]

i don't have a problem with downloading live shows because the only other way to acquire them is to either purchase or trade with other fans. i guess then there is an exception i can think of is with pearl jam boots since they release them officially. but if i were to download a pj show that was released on official boot, i wouldn't feel as guilty as i would had i downloaded the entire no code album instead of buying it.

 

[u2popmofo]

What about live shows? Anyone feel wrong for downloading and burning these?

Not at all. I also dont feel too bad about downloading b-sides since it would cost me more money than buying an album for an import with 2 songs I didnt have on it.

 

[Bono's shades]

I'm a technophobe with a piece-of-crap computer and a dial-up connection, so I've never downloaded music. If I did have the capabiity I don't think I would be able to resist the temptation entirely, despite my ethical qualms.

I have a hard time blaming people who download some tracks from an album before buying it to make sure they aren't going to be wasting their money on something they don't like, or who download to explore non-mainstream music they wouldn't be exposed to any other way. However, I think I would have issues with a person whose entire music collection was obtained through downloading and/or burning.

 

[Saracene]

I only download music when I want to investigate an artist or band I haven't listened to before, or to get live tracks. I burn copies of CDs for friends and relatives, and I copy my CDs when I go overseas and don't want to take originals with me. Otherwise, I'm an old-school collector; I love having pretty booklets and clicking with a mouse is just not as gratifying as changing real CDs. Plus I've got an album listener's mentality in that I just don't like to listen to the songs that have been removed from the rest of the work and the professional CD packaging; they feel... I don't know, somehow "rootless".

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

live shows? no. it's the only way i'll experience a concert for most of my favourite artistes, and they are technically unofficial recordings. i've only burnt one though.

 

[SkeeK]

I download shitloads of music. On me and my brothers computers (we have 'em networked and have similar taste in music) we have something like 70 gigabytes of mp3s, mainly complete albums.. it works out to something like 800-900 CDs worth. now this does include albums we buy, because they always get ripped. I buy a CD every now and then, more often than not as a gift, my brother buys tons and tons of vinyl because he djs, so he gets the ethical upperhand, i barely use CDs that I do have because I have an mp3 player. as far as me and ethics.. i guess i am stealing music, but i wouldn't enjoy it otherwise since i can't afford to buy it. and since all i do is think and talk about music (and some other things, sometimes) I work as a publicity machine for all the music I like, so I figure that should count for something. and if it doesn't, well then oh well.

Someone arrest me!

I should buy the new Radiohead though, but I spent 60 bucks CAD on a concert ticket.

 

[IWasBored]

there's always the question of whether the band makes more money off album sales or tickets and merch...it really depends on how big the band is, i guess...

someone who knows more about album sales want to help me on this one?

 

[martha]

there's always the question of whether the band makes more money off album sales or tickets and merch...it really depends on how big the band is, i guess...

That doesn't matter at all. If you take something without paying for it, you're stealing it. It doesn't matter how much money that band has already made.

 

[IWasBored]

That doesn't matter at all. If you take something without paying for it, you're stealing it. It doesn't matter how much money that band has already made.

you're right. nevermind.

 

[MrBrau1]

Then the question becomes how much $ does the band have. Guys like U2, REM, Radiohead are flush. Wheras my band is dirt broke.