I agree with most of the points you are making.
Your inside view of the music industry clears some of the aspects not known to the public. By now knowing some of the stuff you posted, I see the importance of buying a record.
Here is my take on some things you mentioned
Steve Smyth said:
If you can't afford it, WAIT UNTIL YOU CAN. Or sell something so you can. I have had to when I was in positions to not afford everything I wanted, so why shouldn't you?
Good point, in a perfect world with perfect humans, people would wait until they could, but in this far from perfect world another aspect comes into play, temptation. it is really really tempting to get an album for free before it even comes out, or to just get if for free. The internet and music from p2p software is kinda like a little kid being alone in a room with no supervision and a bunch a cookies on a table. In order to get the cookies he needs to pay a dollar, just to leave it on the table, but if he just gets a cookie without paying there are no consequences due to the lack of supervision. 100% of those little kids would get the cookie without paying. I think it is in human nature to jack shit from other people when they know there are no consequences. I'm not saying that everyone is doing it or did it or will do it, but I'm saying that the temptation is still there.
Furthermore, I understand where you come from by saying that you've been in that situation of not being to afford everything, and you didn't get it until you could, so why shouldn't everyone do the same thing. I agree with it completely, yet i admit that i'm kinda of a hypocrite in this matter.i bought poe, and the new behemoth or gojira's disks after i downloaded those from torrents. Those were actually a pain in the ass to find, just not well distributed enough in Seattle and my parents don't trust online payment. Most of my music that i listen to is bought from a store, i'm not a perfect human.
Downloading shouldn't be written off as a concept though, even from torrents. IMHO sharing bootlegs is not something that damages the artist. a bootleg WILL NOT prevent 99% of the people from going to a show or buying an album, to me it is the contrary, it makes me wanna go to a show. I have downloaded a bunch of Sepultura bootlegs from the 90s and the beneath the remains tours, and i am actually a proud owner of those bootlegs. No disrespected intended, but those bootleg allow me to experience halfway something i couldn't biologically. I was one or two or not even born when those were recorded, and the line up isn't even together anymore. But, I would never pay for a bootleg unless it was from the artist. If a dude recorded a show, I'm cool with that if he shares it that is fine with me too, if he sells it, then he is a total dick for which i have no respect.
Steve Smyth said:
I have heard music fans state they they would prefer to "pay the artist directly". Radiohead might not be the favorite of anybody, or everybody, on this forum. But I believe that the time is right to try this system out, and see if it works. And, if music fans really support the idea of buying directly from the artist, hopefully Radiohead's fans will show that, and support the band in their art_, by buying their latest work, and then support them by paying to see them on tour, buy their merchandise,etc. And this model will be taken on by other bands and artists out there.
I am one of the people who would pay directly the artist for their music. If you would sell the EssenEss project online at a reasonable price I would buy it because i know that the money goes to one of my favorite guitarits, and that i am not wasting money on middlemen between me and the artist(just giving an example, i am gonna buy it anyway the day it comes out). I think what radiohead is doing is a double way sword cutting at both the music industry AND at piracy.
as a future aspiring musician, I agree with the fact that piracy hurts bands immensely in the beginning of their careers, and because of that aspiration I try to understand the artists, and not jack their music, and in the end their money.
P.S. This thread actually inspired me to clean up my hard drive of some stuff i got from other ways than the legitimate ones.
