Are you an evil MP3 downloader?

[Charade]

I'm willing to bet you've probably lost more money to freeware that can do the same for free.

I've noticed that if you look hard enough, there is a freeware program out there for whatever you want/need done.

There is a good list on this thread if anyone is needing one:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=997283&enterthread=y

Pretty much irrelevent to the issue.

 

[chadfromdallas]

Pretty much irrelevent to the issue.

Eh, not really. When you say something is taking money away from such and such, there are other factors than just piracy.

 

[MouseClubMom]

Nobody downloads their stuff

Not necessarily true. Most record deals are written so that the artist doesnt start making any money until about the 3rd successful album. The label takes their "recoup" from all of the first 2 and most of the 3rd. You dont start really bringing in money until you are pretty established. Take for instance *Nsync - one of the most lucratively successful pop groups of all time. Those guys worked their butts off touring, recording, rehearsing for several years before they made any real money. At the time of their lawsuit against Lou Pearlman each guy was only pulling in about 30K a year. Big money? Hardly!

As far as illegally downloading music - let your conscience be your guide. It is illegal and it is stealing. Period.

 

[Tiziminchac]

I never download anything illegally anymore. I got all I wanted years ago.

 

[Charade]

Fine, got the reciepts for them? All you need to do is prove ownership.

No, he doesn't need a receipt. If he has an original CD, that's good enough.

The question is not if he has stolen CDs, it's does he has a legal copy.

When you do a competitive software upgrade, usually the only proof of ownership they want is a factory original CD or the first page from an original users manual.

 

[Charade]

Eh, not really. When you say something is taking money away from such and such, there are other factors than just piracy.

Nope. Not really. It's purely business at that point.

 

[Mickey's Monkey]

Ouch, I just took the time to read the pages (I didn't before I actually asked my question). I admit I have used LimeWire. Does that make me a bad person?!

Well, if you consider shoplifters to be bad persons, then........yes.

 

[Mickey's Monkey]

I download illeagally and I have no shame either. Those freaking stores and record companies try and make me pay 13 bucks for a whole c.d. when all I want is one lousy song. So I just download it. And all the musicians have more money than I'll ever make in a lifetime so I figure that by downloading their songs instead of purchasing their c.d. I'm humbling them. I'm doing them a favor really If I really like a band I buy their c.d. but say it's someone like Kelly Clarkson. I like that "Since you been gone" song but there's no way I want her whole c.d. No big deal really!

Then subscribe to one of the myriad of download services... MusicMatch, Napster, ITunes, WalMart, MSN Music.

Why do you care how much money they have? Why is that even relevant to the argument? Movie stars have lots of money, too. Do you steal DVD's? Sneak into movie theaters? Michael Eisner has lots of money, too. Do you steal Disney DVD's? Sneak in to Disney parks? Steal items from the Disney store? If how much money the owner makes is the standard you use, where do you draw the theft line?

 

[Mickey's Monkey]

No, he doesn't need a receipt. If he has an original CD, that's good enough.

The question is not if he has stolen CDs, it's does he has a legal copy.

When you do a competitive software upgrade, usually the only proof of ownership they want is a factory original CD or the first page from an original users manual.

But he said he lost the CD's and albums, but "claims" he owned them at one time. Cool, then. I "used to own" the latest version of Adobe Photoshop, but I have "lost" the CD. Guess I can go get a copy from someone, huh? Is that how Chad's logic works, do you think?

 

[chadfromdallas]

But he said he lost the CD's and albums, but "claims" he owned them at one time. Cool, then. I "used to own" the latest version of Adobe Photoshop, but I have "lost" the CD. Guess I can go get a copy from someone, huh? Is that how Chad's logic works, do you think?

I think you need to chill a bit there

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Then subscribe to one of the myriad of download services... MusicMatch, Napster, ITunes, WalMart, MSN Music.

Why do you care how much money they have? Why is that even relevant to the argument? Movie stars have lots of money, too. Do you steal DVD's? Sneak into movie theaters? Michael Eisner has lots of money, too. Do you steal Disney DVD's? Sneak in to Disney parks? Steal items from the Disney store? If how much money the owner makes is the standard you use, where do you draw the theft line?

I don't really need a lecture, thanks though I don't download all the time so no, I don't feel guilty. And I have itunes to go with my ipod so hmmm, yup. I'm all covered. And just for the record, since you obviously didn't catch on to my sarcasm, illegal downloading isn't something I do often. I got rid of KaZaa a long time ago. So your righteous indignation on behalf of the music industry has no affect on me. Sorry

 

[Charade]

But he said he lost the CD's and albums, but "claims" he owned them at one time. [ Cool, then. I "used to own" the latest version of Adobe Photoshop, but I have "lost" the CD. Guess I can go get a copy from someone, huh? Is that how Chad's logic works, do you think?

Ooops. Then I misunderstood and he's SOL.

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Well, if you consider shoplifters to be bad persons, then........yes.

Actually I did pay for my LimeWire service so how would it be shoplifting?

 

[chadfromdallas]

Actually I did pay for my LimeWire service so how would it be shoplifting?

You paid for the sharing program. You didn't pay for anything you downloaded.

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Ok, I honestly have no clue about LimeWire since a friend set it up for me (I just paid LOL). How come it said free downloads when I bought it? *Sigh* I guess per popular opinion I will be going straight to hell for using it.

{Angela who has a "deal" with her maker...if DH gets into heaven after shooting a horse then no illegal downloading is keeping me out }

 

[chadfromdallas]

Ok, I honestly have no clue about LimeWire since a friend set it up for me (I just paid LOL). How come it said free downloads when I bought it?

See: scam

 

[aphasia83]

I do and I am proud of it. I don't see a problem, because I basically download music to see if I like the music an unknown band produces, then I delete it and buy the CD if I was sufficiently impressed. It has caused me to buy a lot more CDs than I otherwise would have. It's a great way for new bands to get exposure.

Also, and this is probably more controversial, but I kind of believe that if you KNOW there is no way that you will buy a CD, how is it harmful to anyone if you download music from that CD for free? They wouldn't benefit from your money, and it doesn't hurt the artists (who wouldn't be getting the money anyway) to have their music listened to when someone is studying or cleaning the house. Apparently it's not illegal here. But even if it were, I don't have a problem with it because it's like listening to music on the radio - yes someone else might pay for that, but the end user doesn't. It's just background music.

I totally support the sites that allow you to download a song at about a dollar a piece. Most of the time when I avoid buying a CD it's because I only like two songs on the album. Kudos to puretracks.com!

 

[krissy3483]

I no longer illegally download music. Now, however, I get my music using instant messenger's file transferring. Where my friends get their music from, I don't know.

 

[Cocamami]

Too scared of the FBI coming to my door

I get mine from Walmart online...Only $.88 each...Pretty good selection!

 

[Grand Canyon]

Here is my problem with the RIAA.
They want it both ways.
The data, i.e song or movie, is copy righted material, but the media is designed to wear out to promote repurchase of the data when the media fails.

I have bought an album on LP vinyl that degraded badly in only a few weeks if played heavily. I had to pay for the data again when the album was made available on tape. A few years later I bought it again when it came out on CD. And about 10 years after that I bought it again after my DS used it as a chew toy.

I ask the programmers out there how long do you think a program would last if it had to remain on the media it was sold on? (i.e., do you want to run Win XP? PUT the CD in the CD drive X first. NOT!!!)

You know this is impractical. We hold our breath that the new disk the program comes on is not damaged when we first use it.

Back to the RIAA.

The RIAA knows full well that DVD movies are easily damaged and there is a high probability that a damaged DVD will be replaced by the owner. This is a wind fall profit for the distributor. They get the money twice for selling the data once. The RIAA met to discuss the new DVD standard for movies about 10 years ago. The likelihood of damage to the disks was a hot topic. Many engineers wanted the disks placed into a protective case like the 3.5in floppy and the laser disk, but noooo!!!! The RIAA saw great profits to be made in reselling the disks after minor damage, also they hoped they would be able to kill off some of the profit in the movie rental business by reducing the number of rentals a DVD could get before it wore out. The RIAA are scum!

If the RIAA was serious about intellectual property rights and not making money on badly designed storage media they would do as I propose.

My CD or DVD is scratched. I can bring it back to the store or the official RIAA outlet and pay $1 or $2 to have it replaced. That would be plenty of money to cover the cost of burning a new disk (I pay $0.12 for a blank CDR and $0.50 for a blank DVD-R). I am sure they can get the disks for the same price. I am offering at least a 400% profit for spitting out a copy of intellectual property I have already paid for.

As for software, I have scratched my original copy of MS Office and, yes, Microsoft will send you another without expecting you to buy it at full price. Oh, that's right, they sell intellectual property not media!