Think Music Piracy is Harmless?

(...to add, and hopefully close...)

On the subject of the "quality" of the content, DJ's are really just super-low-power radio stations, so we just play what people want to hear (if we are doing our jobs properly), and if they want to hear losers like Eminem/Ja Rule/L'il Kim, then what does that have to do with paying for music or not? We should pay for the privilege of using their music. If we want to "elevate" our music to higher levels, why don't we just play the very best Bach, Beethoven and Mozart?

The answer, of course is, people aren't requesting those artists...often they want lewd lyrics and oversimplistic melodies.

My only real point is that the record companies should have set up licensing for DJ's years ago, and MP3's are just a symptom of a bigger issue - ownership and license.

[Wolfie]

Yes.

I agree that simplicity in music and lyrics has merit.

Some of the more popular songs in America's music history have been simplistic. Many of the well known artists are known best for their simplistic lyrics.

Irving Berlin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Nat "King" Cole... all recorded some of the better selling songs of the last century.

And simplistic they are. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

[Jim Casey]

smpte...if you get a chance, call me at 893-0676, Would lobe to talk withyou about the biz etc. Great to see another mMiner on the boards!

I will say that 2002 was one of the worst years for danceable music in a long time. When I say danceable, I mean for the mainstream.

There were great tracks in the past year but unfortuantely not many will stick as legends.

Music quality would help, but there is no empirical eveidence on either side that becuase of the quality of music, sales went down or becuase of piracy sales went down.

It will be interesting to watch sales progress in 2003.

Food for thought: Would Eminem's album have gone Diamond (10 million sold) if not for music piracy?

[JX2 Productions]

In a way I do feel bad for pirating music, but frankly it's just too expensive to keep buying 15.00 cd's for one song maybe two at best. They should have set up a licensing system years ago but they didn't, so they suffer. Yes it's partly our fault (the one's who download) that there is a decrease in music sales, but not everyone can be perfect. I do feel horrible for stealing but right now it's what I can afford. When I get more money I get cd's but untill I get more money or cd's go down, mp3's are the way to go. yes / no? dumb? what? Not too sure, I'm stuck in the middle and I dont know what I should do exactly (of course buy cd's and look better or pirate and look bad)

andy

[Mike Mahoney]

to answer the main question, Yes. I think music "piracy" in the form of p2p is harmless.
I finally broke down & jumped into a p2p site. I have found two things.
1) when I hear a tune I like & can ID the title or artist, I look it up on the p2p system. If I like it, I look for others by that artist. if they have more than one good song, I go buy the CD. My CD purchases have actually increased since jumping on this band wagon.
2) Sound Quality & incorrect labeling. many of the songs are labeled in the same way kids ask us for songs, they pick a line in the song & put that as the title, also, sometimes you have to search a bit to find a usable piece. its not worth it to me, its like taking the car to the mechanic, sure I can do it myself for free labor, but it takes up my time, & sometimes more time than I initially anticipated.

Now, that being said, I agree with those who say that good music right now is few & far between, that "clear channel" & others are strangling & suffocating the music industry, perhaps hurting it to an even greater degree than these p2p sites.

also, love 'em or hate 'em, Backstreet, N'Sync, Brittany, & Eminem are industry cash cows, three of which are doing almost nothing right now, & for a good little while, so the industry is simply waiting for the next big thing to come along.

& lastly, the economy is not helping the music industry, while people listen to more music when times are tough, they don't necesarily buy more music, untill the times get better for them, so these p2p sites offer an outlet, & most folks don't really want to go through all the hassle & expense of turning these mp3's into usable musical media, so as times get better, they will opt for the "convenience" of just buying a ready made CD. of course that may change with the tech becoming available to play raw mp3's, but then if the music industry wants to survive it'll have to adapt, & I for one would have no problem paying $1 per song, or something to that effect, when that type of thing becomes available.

oh well, thats just my take on it all [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

[Jim Casey]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>JX2 Productions:
In a way I do feel bad for pirating music, but frankly it's just too expensive to keep buying 15.00 cd's for one song maybe two at best. They should have set up a licensing system years ago but they didn't, so they suffer. Yes it's partly our fault (the one's who download) that there is a decrease in music sales, but not everyone can be perfect. I do feel horrible for stealing but right now it's what I can afford. When I get more money I get cd's but untill I get more money or cd's go down, mp3's are the way to go. yes / no? dumb? what? Not too sure, I'm stuck in the middle and I dont know what I should do exactly (of course buy cd's and look better or pirate and look bad)

andy[/b][/quote]Andy...please tell me you don;t use pirated music at your shows do you?

[diskjokk]

Mike,

You are correct. The music industry has to adapt to where technology is taking us. If it doesn't than I am afraid that it's financial matters will just worsen over time.

Oh, add to the fact that the industry needs TALENTED artists that can put out hits for years. If the industry can put sytle BEHIND substance, then it may just get people like me to buy music again.

Now, I only subscribe to Promo Only because it provides music for my clients.

I can't remember the last time I bought music for me to listen to in my car. Why? Because I can't stand to hear the artists who are popular today. I actually like to hear real instruments and people who can really sing. Oh, and I also like people who have their own sound.

Every now and then, we will get a Jill Scott. But for every Jill Scott, there are a dozen N-Sync's, Britney Spears, J-Rule, etc. Arggg! Music just sucks these days!

[ January 23, 2003, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: diskjokk ]

Paint a fart pink, it still stinks. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif[/img] I am very dissappointed and ashamed of the DJ Industry after reading some of this BS.

Number 1. Kids do not want music with out explicit language these days. Of course if old farts like us bought music, they wouldn't market to kids. I don't know many people my age who buy music period. Kids buy it and they don't want Bob Seagar or Elvis. So don't blame the industry for catering to the kids who buy the music.

Number 2. Kids would down load the music instead of buying it even if you could get CD's for $6.00 each! Don't BS yourself into thinking that kids steal because prices are high. People will steal because they can.

Number 3. It's wrong! It's stealing! You are a disgrace if you do it!

We have DJ's ranting and raving about thingsd copied from their web sites and promotional material, but blessing and excusing people stealing music from the Artists. It's the same thing only you are in the artists shoes so it's wrong for someone to steal if they are stealing from you!

I am ashamed to know that fellow PROFESSIONALS in this industry support and make excuses for thieves.

[JX2 Productions]

No we dont use all priated music. Some is but not all

[JX2 Productions]

I should probably be more clear. About 5% is pirated, those are the hard to find songs. Other than that we copied our cd's to the computer.

andy