Ragamuffin
Why yes, I do hate you
Fuck the RIAA and their gestapo tactics. I wonder how many dead old ladies that never even owned a computer they're sueing this time.
RIAA layin' down the law
- Thread starter lespaulbass666
- Start date
muffytheVampirelayer
Member
- Apr 3, 2004
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I downloaded Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, Walk Allover You, and Friggen in the Riggen. However I have approx 80 Anthrax albums on vinyl, and a stack of Anthrax CDS as high as Spitz is tall.
thraxx said:
nafnikufesin
N.F.F.
From my personal point of view, file-sharing will not kill the industry any more than "high-speed dubbing" buttons did on cassette players. For me, file-sharing has renewed my interest in buying music; just in a nick of time, I might add, because to me, the industry had died (or was at least near-death) before file-sharing ever came along. Please note that what follows is a short novella, so for those that aren't interested in my side of the argument, skip this message now.
Of the bands that I like and the music I listen to, pretty much none of it will get played on a conventional radio station these days. For some of these bands, like Bush-era Anthrax, for example, I will buy their album the day it comes out in stores even though I have not heard anything from it, because I am that much of a fan that I trust that I will like what they put out. Sadly, these bands are in the minority. However, there are other situations where I depend on file-sharing to influence my buying decisions. Take the following two examples:
1) Superjoint Ritual - I knew the members of the side project, so I was certainly interested in hearing this album, but I wasn't going to spend $20 on a CD until I had heard a few songs. Now it might be different if it was a Britney Spears album, where I could wait 15 minutes to hear her new single played AGAIN on the radio, but when is the last time you heard a Superjoint Ritual song on the radio? So some sites like HMV allow you to sample streaming 30 second snippets of a couple tracks from the album, but again, I'm not going to plunk down $20 without having at least heard a whole song, and maybe listen to it a few times to allow it to grow on me. So I went to Kazaa, downloaded a few songs, threw them onto a mix CD to give them a listen, and in the end, I decided it was worth my $20 so I bought their album (and since then, their second album as well).
2) In Flames - Until three years ago, I had never even heard of this band, thanks to all the radio play and record company support they get. Twenty years ago, maybe a friend at school could have introduced me to a band like this by putting them on a mix tape, or dubbing an album for me, that we could then "share" with each other (they weren't "files" but it was still sharing back then, and it didn't seem to kill the industry...how do you think I got into Metallica in the early 80's, well before radio stations would go anywhere near them). These days, technology has advanced, so that instead of hanging out with my "metalhead" friends in the back corner of the cafeteria, I'm hanging out with my "metalhead" friends on an internet message board. They tell me about the bands that they think are cool, many of which I've never heard of, again thanks to the support industry. So I ask them to recommend some songs to download (I can't ask them to lend me a CD, as many of them are in Europe, Australia, South America, etc). Many of the bands, such as Opeth and Black League just aren't my cup of tea. But then I hear a band like In Flames and I take notice. I download a few more of their songs to be sure its not a one-hit kind of thing. I go on to buy the entire back catalog, and now they are one of those bands that I buy their new CD the day it comes out even if I haven't heard it. In turn, I recommend a few Anthrax songs, because I hope that maybe they'll download those tunes, like what they hear, and go on to buy more of their albums, thus supporting one of the bands that I love, hopefully encouraging them to release more of the same music in the future.
I own over 600 CD's, and buy a new CD, on average, once every 1-2 weeks. In the past few weeks I have bought three CD's; in all three cases I had downloaded some or all of the album to "try before I buy", and downloading helped persuade me to buy the albums.
Perhaps I am in the minority. I know there are many out there who will abuse the system buy downloading entire albums and not paying for them. Then again, twenty years ago, there were those who took albums out of the library and recorded them onto cassettes. Maybe we should also close down used record stores, too, because the industry and artists don't see a cent from albums that are re-sold. Garth Brooks actually suggested that people boycott used record stores because of this. Maybe file-sharing will kill off some of the acts that the record industry is trying so hard to promote, but personally, I don't think the world will miss a few more carbon-copy teen "idols" that are marketed becuase they look pretty, but most have never written their own lyrics, composed their own music, choreographed their own dance routine, or played their own instruments.
Metallica is in a position to complain about downloading, because they have been successful for long enough that they could negotiate a contract that gave them a cut of the profits directly proportional to album sales. Still, with over 9 million sales of "St. Anger', arguably their worst album to date, their pocket books can't be hurting too badly. New acts don't have that luxury however...these days, most sell their souls into multi-album deals that give them a set fee regardless of how the albums sell; not surprisingly, it is these artists that the record companies promote into the spotlight, because they get the best bang for their buck if they don't have to share the profits with the bands. This is partly why you see so many one-hit wonders.
For every Metallica, there is an Offspring or an AC/DC. The Offspring wanted to release their entire album "Conspiracy of One" on Napster before it came out in stores in order to get more people hearing more of the album, instead of depending on radio stations playing the one single that they've been directed to play by the studio. (Sony, however, refused to allow the band to do this). For "Stiff Upper Lip", AC/DC released a previously unreleased track "Cyberspace" on the internet only; it eventually turned up on a CD single. Many smaller acts, such as an Edmonton band "Chick Maggot" release their entire albums on the internet and encourage people to burn and share them in order to develop a following. So while the RIAA is fighting a battle (that it cannot win, because as they find ways to curb file-sharing, I guarantee new ways will evolve to get around it), many of the artists that they are supposed to be representing are finding ways to work with the technology instead of against it.
There is one important point where I agree with you; if you like an artist and want to hear more of them, buy their album. [/rant]
Of the bands that I like and the music I listen to, pretty much none of it will get played on a conventional radio station these days. For some of these bands, like Bush-era Anthrax, for example, I will buy their album the day it comes out in stores even though I have not heard anything from it, because I am that much of a fan that I trust that I will like what they put out. Sadly, these bands are in the minority. However, there are other situations where I depend on file-sharing to influence my buying decisions. Take the following two examples:
1) Superjoint Ritual - I knew the members of the side project, so I was certainly interested in hearing this album, but I wasn't going to spend $20 on a CD until I had heard a few songs. Now it might be different if it was a Britney Spears album, where I could wait 15 minutes to hear her new single played AGAIN on the radio, but when is the last time you heard a Superjoint Ritual song on the radio? So some sites like HMV allow you to sample streaming 30 second snippets of a couple tracks from the album, but again, I'm not going to plunk down $20 without having at least heard a whole song, and maybe listen to it a few times to allow it to grow on me. So I went to Kazaa, downloaded a few songs, threw them onto a mix CD to give them a listen, and in the end, I decided it was worth my $20 so I bought their album (and since then, their second album as well).
2) In Flames - Until three years ago, I had never even heard of this band, thanks to all the radio play and record company support they get. Twenty years ago, maybe a friend at school could have introduced me to a band like this by putting them on a mix tape, or dubbing an album for me, that we could then "share" with each other (they weren't "files" but it was still sharing back then, and it didn't seem to kill the industry...how do you think I got into Metallica in the early 80's, well before radio stations would go anywhere near them). These days, technology has advanced, so that instead of hanging out with my "metalhead" friends in the back corner of the cafeteria, I'm hanging out with my "metalhead" friends on an internet message board. They tell me about the bands that they think are cool, many of which I've never heard of, again thanks to the support industry. So I ask them to recommend some songs to download (I can't ask them to lend me a CD, as many of them are in Europe, Australia, South America, etc). Many of the bands, such as Opeth and Black League just aren't my cup of tea. But then I hear a band like In Flames and I take notice. I download a few more of their songs to be sure its not a one-hit kind of thing. I go on to buy the entire back catalog, and now they are one of those bands that I buy their new CD the day it comes out even if I haven't heard it. In turn, I recommend a few Anthrax songs, because I hope that maybe they'll download those tunes, like what they hear, and go on to buy more of their albums, thus supporting one of the bands that I love, hopefully encouraging them to release more of the same music in the future.
I own over 600 CD's, and buy a new CD, on average, once every 1-2 weeks. In the past few weeks I have bought three CD's; in all three cases I had downloaded some or all of the album to "try before I buy", and downloading helped persuade me to buy the albums.
Perhaps I am in the minority. I know there are many out there who will abuse the system buy downloading entire albums and not paying for them. Then again, twenty years ago, there were those who took albums out of the library and recorded them onto cassettes. Maybe we should also close down used record stores, too, because the industry and artists don't see a cent from albums that are re-sold. Garth Brooks actually suggested that people boycott used record stores because of this. Maybe file-sharing will kill off some of the acts that the record industry is trying so hard to promote, but personally, I don't think the world will miss a few more carbon-copy teen "idols" that are marketed becuase they look pretty, but most have never written their own lyrics, composed their own music, choreographed their own dance routine, or played their own instruments.
Metallica is in a position to complain about downloading, because they have been successful for long enough that they could negotiate a contract that gave them a cut of the profits directly proportional to album sales. Still, with over 9 million sales of "St. Anger', arguably their worst album to date, their pocket books can't be hurting too badly. New acts don't have that luxury however...these days, most sell their souls into multi-album deals that give them a set fee regardless of how the albums sell; not surprisingly, it is these artists that the record companies promote into the spotlight, because they get the best bang for their buck if they don't have to share the profits with the bands. This is partly why you see so many one-hit wonders.
For every Metallica, there is an Offspring or an AC/DC. The Offspring wanted to release their entire album "Conspiracy of One" on Napster before it came out in stores in order to get more people hearing more of the album, instead of depending on radio stations playing the one single that they've been directed to play by the studio. (Sony, however, refused to allow the band to do this). For "Stiff Upper Lip", AC/DC released a previously unreleased track "Cyberspace" on the internet only; it eventually turned up on a CD single. Many smaller acts, such as an Edmonton band "Chick Maggot" release their entire albums on the internet and encourage people to burn and share them in order to develop a following. So while the RIAA is fighting a battle (that it cannot win, because as they find ways to curb file-sharing, I guarantee new ways will evolve to get around it), many of the artists that they are supposed to be representing are finding ways to work with the technology instead of against it.
There is one important point where I agree with you; if you like an artist and want to hear more of them, buy their album. [/rant]
Thrymfal
Snootchie Bootchies
johnnieCzech
Your favourite Czech
I spend my money on my favourite bands. But I still like to hear lots of music, so I still DL and burn a lot.
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