Downloading Music

[admin_exported]

Here's a HiFi one for you... I used to be a download maniac. I went all Ashley James and declared MP3 my new lord. I think I've downloaded about 45000 songs in my life, but that was all between '97 and '01. Now before the RIAA tries to burn me at the stake I should point out that they are all gone now, I never was a burner and I've reformatted those drives long ago. I exclusively buy music simply because I like sound quality and tangibility, and to me even lossless .wav and flac leave something to be desired.

Here's the question. Is it killing music? I don't think so, tbh I think there's more good stuff cropping up now than there was five years ago. Moreover I believe piracy forces the industry to sell things at reasonable (although still outrageously marked up) prices. People don't want to be pirates, they just want to hear music and have food and shelter.

Addendum:
To: RIAA Bloodsucking Lawyers
Re: My bum.

Dear RIAA Lawyers,

Don't roast my bum.

Sincerely,

Ray Palmer

 

[Anonymous]

Killing music - now that's an interesting one. Piracy isn't necessarily killing anything except the record companies time and reputations. Whilst they figure out what the hell to do the entire world is drifting away away from them.

As much as I disagree with piracy I think it is giving a stagnated industry a thwack up the posterior. The file sharers / hackers will always be half a dozen steps ahead so until the record companies can figure out a way to reach equilibrium I don't think we'll see much change. I think I agree(?) that most people given the chance and a fair price (as we are seeing on a few sites with ad revenues) would prefer not to be breaking the law, but there will also be a great deal of people who just won't care about breaking the law / artist rights.

Music makers will always make music. I love the way they are starting to use their creativity in bringing us their music in alternative ways. The music world is just at the start of a very long journey of acclimatising to a situation it seems took it by surprise, I have no doubt it will bounce back - I just hope Simon Cowell is missing.

 

[professorhat]

It's a shame that the music industry has gone down the path of tracking down "soft" piracy such as Mr Smith and Ms Jones who, on a few occasions downloaded a track illegally through some P2P software, rather than concentrating on the actual problem which is mostly based in the Far East. The software industry could have gone down the same road but didn't as they realised Mr Smith and Ms Jones weren't really a threat to their future, but the mainstream piracy in areas like Asia was. Hence why Microsoft are now selling their products for ridiculously cheap prices in China and the like. It might not work, but at least they see the real problem rather than ruthlessly (and pointlessly) trying to pursue the average citizen who, if actually given a decent CD quality download service where virtually all music was available, would probably be more than happy to pay 79p per song.
Maybe one day they'll get it right, but we're still a long way off me not having to buy CDs and rip them yet.

 

[up the music]

Time for some disjointed thoughts and a bit of ranting, here we go:-

No, it's not killing music, just like home taping didn't kill music. A lack of affordable venues, now that hurts.

Piracy is hurting the big record labels though. As they put so much of their revenues to marketing and promoting mass market focus grouped drivel R@B pop star +*-te, I'm not crying for them. Every karaoke miming wannabee that attends an X Factor audition is killing music.

I suspect (but have no proof of this) that there are now lots more small labels than there were 10 or 15 yeaars ago, catering to niche tastes and local markets.

So long as venues can overcome the recession, the smoking ban, supermarket drinks prices, and high taxes levied on alcohol music will not die. These factors have left venues stuggling to strike deals where both band and venue make any profit. A brighter note is the recent mushrooming of the number of festivals around the country.

For the labels it was always going to be hard to compete with a new generation of young people who now have access to any music they may not even have known they wanted, from the comfort of home and at no cost. I think this has helped the festival and live music scene by allowing listeners and artists alike access to new music.

For a while when Kazaa first hit the news, file sharing was about the only way to test drive music you would never have otherwise found. The mass of internet radio stations, myspace and lastfm and the like have opened up new and legal pathways to discovering new music for those who care to do so. Perhaps in time these streamed media sites will dent free filesharing.

I've certainly downloaded music in the past and been to a gig on the strength of it. I've even been known to buy a CD from the artist direct at the gig. Many of the people I know who download frequently are big music fans, they go to gigs, know and support local bands, frequently play in bands themselves and yes, buy CDs too.

There's another side too. A sizeable chunk of what I download comes from blog sites specialising in old vinyl rips that haven't been released on CD yet, or are totally obscure. Sites like this can only serve to alert the labels that a market may exist, and perhaps a reissue is in order.

As for the quality of MP3 issue, most people find them acceptable. Well, they would wouldn't they. They play music through PC speakers and rarely burn to CD or play them through their cheap midi system hifi. The biggest gripe about MP3 is that it lacks the nice big physical cover you used to get with vinyl. Joe public regards the sound quality of secondary importance.

 

[chebby]

Kids have always enjoyed sources of music with questionable sound quality.

When I was young it meant playing singles on a portable record player (suitcase style autochangers) and cr@ppy little transistor radios tuned into pirate radio stations or radio 1 or Luxembourg etc. The replay quality of a half decent pair of headphones plugged into a PC or iPod is way superior to a cheap 1960s 'tranny' radio.

Our generation of kids 'pirated' stuff onto cassette tapes from mates LPs - or even from the radio - with cheap portable cassette players/recorders. An MP3 download played on PC speakers IS better quality.

A lot of people compare (wrongly) their 'audiophile' CD players & turntables - through a decent hifi - with the quality of their sons & daughters MP3 downloads on PCs and iPods. They should really be comparing with what they were using when they were the same age. (With the honourable exception of our Hughes123 who, lets be frank, does not have hifi equipment typical of what the average 15 year old is using!)

As this generation of teens matures and (hopefully) becomes more affluent then they aspire to better quality hifi and music replay from their preferred format. This is already here. Even Krell make iPod systems! The number of sites offering better quality and/or lossless files is increasing (even iTunes have many '+' tracks which sound pretty good.)

The 'vinyl generation' despaired of CD quality (some still do) and now the 'CD generation' is despairing of download's quality. (And still do even when the downloads are lossless and played through an expensive DAC.)

As for piracy, well I refer you to my first paragraph regarding 1960s youngsters tuning into the plethora of pirate radio stations and taping stuff free of charge. Nothing new under the sun.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Ok, I'm a Hughesy. At 14 I had a separates system headed up by a Rega Planar 2 with Linn K5. Took me 3 years to save for it (buying bit-by-bit) with my paper round and Skittles Sticker-up jobs...

But yep, was a big fan of cassettes as I couldn't afford to buy every album I wanted. But wanted to make sure I knew all the words to the latest tunes. To not know them would be to have been ostricised...

Now I use Napster to stream albums to see if I like them, and if I do, buy them on CD. But I'm not so worried about peer pressure now!!!

 

[chebby]

fatboyslimfast:Ok, I'm a Hughesy. At 14 I had a separates system headed up by a Rega Planar 2 with Linn K5. Took me 3 years to save for it (buying bit-by-bit) with my paper round and Skittles Sticker-up jobs...

At 15 I had a 'hand-me-down' system comprising Goodmans speakers and Prinzsound amplifier and cassette deck (wooden jackets and sliders etc) and a Connoisseur bd1 turntable with Shure M75. (Donated by my older brother.)

I did not improve on this until I left college at 18 and bought a NAD 3020 and Sansui SR-222 mk 2 and Celestion County speakers with my first month's salary.

 

[Anonymous]

I would not have bought half the albums I have had I not downloaded the mp3 first.

end of story.

You only need to look at the success of some of the high profile free releases such as In Rainbows and the slip.

 

[John Duncan]

How does one get music onto iTunes? I think we should write a song and release it - if George 'Britain's Got Talent' Whatsisname can get a No.26 single with 2,500 sales, we could make top ten if we made a song and all bought a copy ourselves.........

All together now:

'I like small speakers....
I like tall speakers (provided your room is 4m x 5m or greater)......'

 

[up the music]

All together now:

I like small speakers, I like tall speakers
If theyve music-theyve wired for sound

Walkin about with a head full of music
Casette in my pocket and Im gonna use it-stereo
-out on the street you know-woh oh woh...

Into the car go to work Im cruisin
I never think that Ill blow all my fuses
Traffic flows-into the breakfast show-woh oh woh...

Power from the needle to the plastic
A.m.-f.m. I feel so ecstatic now
Its music Ive found
And Im wired for sound

I was small boy who dont like his toys
I could not wait to get wired for sound

I met a girl and she told me she loved me
I said you love me then love means you must like what I like-
My music is dynamite-woh oh woh...

She said-Im not a girl you put on at a stand by
I am a girl who demands that her love is amplified
Switch in to overdrive-woh oh woh

Power from the needle to the plastic
A.m.-f.m. I feel so ecstatic now
Its music Ive found
And Im wired for sound

SIR CLIFF RICHARD - WIRED FOR SOUND

Do you think Cliff's lost much money due to piracy?
All those young kids downloading his new Christmas album for a cheap pressie for auntie.
They'll go out and buy a legit copy, surely?