How do you feel about File Sharing and the Music Industry's desire to put an end it?

[Dave - Power of Omens]

Do you think music file sharing can hurt a band or do you think that it can actually help?

...and with the Music Industry wanting to put an end to it...do you think there is a solution that would benefit the artist, the label, AND the fan????

Just curious as to what you think.

Dave

 

[Kronos66]

i think that there is only 2 solutions to stop P2P and file sharing
-reduce prices of the CDs (too expensive... and for what ? a piece of plastic that will be broken the next time it will fall down on the ground)
BUT sometimes, an artist decide to give something more... for example StarOne's booklet is amazing, as well as the boxset (i have the limited edition)
i think that this kind of things is a good idea

OR/AND

-self-production.
if each artist produce his album @home, and if listeners pay them directly, the price would be very low and buyers will know who and for what they paid...
plus, with the evolution of computers, this kinf of things will be easier

 

[lizard]

complex issue but the fact is, the music is copywrited (sp) and when we trade files or download them and get music for free, we're taking money from both the company and the band, who created the art. I've been guilty of this, the temptation is just too great.
For a new band like Power of Omens, it's a way to get their music heard in a relatively inexpensive way. but for an established band, they could conceivably lose thousands of sales.
on the other hand record companies so often suck in their treatment of artists and greed that its hard to work up a good head of pity for them. CDs cost only a fraction of the 16$ or so we pay for them; the profit margin must be huge.
legally, the file sharing people are being shut down. just today there was a decision against madster.
In a perfect world, I'd like to see all bands and musicians control the distribution of their product, like the Cowboy Junkies have done with their last couple of CDs. At least that way, you know that any money you spend goes to the creators rather than the businessmen.

 

[Denis]

Some people will say it depends on how big the band is. That is, the band is huge and has a lot of sales then they stand to lose the most money and the lesser bands will get their name out there faster. Either way, the well known bands and the lesser will loose money no matter what. The ONLY benefit is to the lesser bands for getting their name out and more well known. Problem is still damned if you do and damned if you don't. Band X is now getting more popular through file sharing. They still will not grow profitable unless they A: get picked up by a great label that will not screw them (too bad) B: book shows to make up for lost profit from file sharing of people who do not accually go and buy the album after listening to it.

I do like the idea of being able to listen to an entire album and decide if I like it enough to buy it. I buy a lot a freakin CD's and with not much money it is very tempting to just download it and burn it.

Even after all the stealing of music by file sharing you have to consider that if there was no internet you would not reach the vast audience as you would with it. I do not think there is a logical answer other than it is wrong to steal from the artist. So really what to do? The internet is not going anywhere so unless there is a way to regulate a great percentage more than what is being done now we will still see file sharing.

My last point goes back to how to become more profitiable in this new age of file sharing. Play play play play the shit out of shows! Join together with other bands big or small and try to go anywhere and everywhere. for example, I am living one hour from Kansas City Missouri. Dream Theater and Rush have been here this year. Fates Warning played here like 5 or six years ago and have not been back to my knowlege. What the hell are you bands doing! Get your prog/power asses here man! hehehe I will spread the word like a madman to get some good bands here! Dream Theater fans were coming from out of nowhere. I could not believe the people. So I know there is a need for Prog in this city. SO COME ON!

That is all.

Oh, and I will be buying TWO copies of the new Power of Omens! One for Stacy and one for me because there is no way we could share.

 

[KameloX]

I've never been comfortable with the whole Napster/Morpheus thing. It's kind of scary that you can download so much from other people's hard drives (including all 9 Robert Jordan Wheel of Time novels...right after they #9 was out on hard back!) I don't agree with that, but file sharing is great for me when I want to hear what a band sounds like and I can't find an MP3 of them anywhere. I downloaded Symphony X's The Hunter the other day just because I haven't heard it in forever (btw, Kronos, excellent idea of putting the new cover next to your name...I had that idea, too!!!) That doesn't mean I'm not going to run and buy Twilight in Olympus once I have the money!

The thing that bothers me is burning whole copies of CDs. I've burned about 10 CDs in the last couple years and even though they don't care about having an original copy, it is HOLY to me! If I don't have a CD booklet and said CD doesn't come straight from the artist, I go nuts. I have about 300 100% original CDs and it makes me proud to know I'm doing my part in supporting bands; locally and globally!

Of course, CDs are waaaaayyyyy too frickin expensive...good god! Makes me sick! But if that's the price I pay as a fan, I don't mind one bit. Hail to the musician!

 

[jimbobhickville]

THe markup in CD prices generally comes from the stores. They buy them from the label for $6-8 and then double that or more. As for file trading, I love it. I've discovered hundreds of bands, including Power of Omens, by being able to download their CDs. Hell, I'd be buying the PoO disc if their dumbass label hadn't stopped printing it. Now, the mp3s must suffice until October. I know people abuse the system; like yesterday someone wanted me to send him the Spastic Ink CD because he was too "lazy" to send money through the mail (and he didn't have a credit card). People like that make me sick. Tough debate. All I know is once Napster shut down, my cd buying died off until AudioGalaxy got big, now that it's gone, I'm buying fewer CDs again. Hell, close 'em all down, I'll same some cash.

One thing I will absolutely never support is the "copy-protection" labels are starting to put on some CDs. Basically they make the cd defective, but in such a way that regular cd players ignore it and cd-roms don't. I listen to music on my computer legally, and they are attempting to infringe on my fair-use rights, something I won't stand for.

 

[Ultima Ibanez Overlord]

A very complex issue. CopyRight protected material shouldn't be shared without the consent of the author(s)/owner(s). It's best if the line is drawn there, because it saves a lot of legal wrangling.

It's fantastic when authors/copyright owners decide to share stuff through their official site or a condoned site, because they can get feedback from recipients and measure how many people are getting it, etc..

That said, like Lizard said, the temptation to download files is sometimes too great, and I have been guilty of downloading tunes from P2P communities. Usually, I like to download the stuff for an advance listen, then buy the official CD when it's available (like I did with DT's 6DoIT, or PoS's Remedy Lane). But I do have about 15 mp3 files that I've never bought the CD of. *insert guilty smiley here*

It seems that like a lot of things, file sharing is a necessary evil, and it'd be best for bands and labels to think progressively and try to capitalise upon it, rather than taking the knee-jerk reaction Metallica took towards it.

MP3 is a great format for many reasons, so bands and labels should try to work with it instead of against it. Let's have more official ways of getting MP3's, tying it up with band's forums and websites, putting bands back in touch with fans in a way that hasn't been seen for a long long time.