Funnely enough I can freely download music and films here in Holland without much problems. Actually, no problems at all. They even use that in advertising for their ISP.

Wether it's right or wrong, i'm not going to debate that.

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Recording artists...are now condemned to a life of semi-luxury --South Park.

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I remember that episode of South Park, and it couldn't be more true. The artist do get something in return for writing and producing all of the music, fame, money, happiness in most cases. So this issue about them not getting enough in return is saying that their just too greedy. I don't see a problem with downloading music off the Internet for free. I also remember this from South Park

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And now, because of people downloading music for free, Brittany Spears couldn't afford a new jumbo jet this year, and instead had to settle for a top-of-the-line Lear jet.

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And that is another thing that couldn't be more true. The artist already have fame, money, good houses that I would give almost anything to be living in, so I see no harm in downloading music. Also, you can't legally (sp?) make copies of CDs. That is absolutely ridiculous, last time I bought a Linkin Park CD my baby cousin threw it under our couch, then somehow it got ran over by my granddad's truck. That right there is a legitimate reason to make copies of CDs. Also, I haven't been payed my allowance in over a year, and I'm still too young to get a job, so i go to launch to watch all my music videos. I can't get the CDs because I can't afford them right now, but launch is how Linkin Park became my favorite band, and thus, when I get the money I am probably going to buy a couple of their CDs. (BTW, here is a link. So I mean, there shouldn't be any law restrictions on downloading music or copying CDs. And also, that link is to launch.com where all of the music videos are streamed, you don't have to and can't for that matter download any of the music. The video quality is good considering you don't have to download anything. And the videos play in their own pop up window, and you can even do a full screen option.

That is another really good point. The artists I listen to (for the most part) are either dead (Jimi Hendrix et al.), too stoned to care (Rolling Stones) or already rich beyond belief (Metallica, Rush, Pink Floyd).

you can copy, just not sell

ISPs advertise LEGAL music and movie downloads. Record companies DO suck, but still not an excuse to go and steal something you should've paid. I also agree that CDs nowadays have only one or two decent songs, the rest are substandard tunes. But remember Apple's music downloads? they're legal, cheap, and they don't force to to buy and listen to a bunch of craps you don't even want in the 1st place. Come on, can you really say ONE dollar (.99 cents, really) is TOO MUCH to pay for a good song? it's not global yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Couple of years ago, downloading music would've been understandable (not justifiable, but understandable) - but not in the near future. With single tunes download (vs buying whole albums), the playing fields have been leveled greatly. Artists get screwed less, fans get screwed less, and of course record companies complain, but they too will benefit in the long run. Competition and fans' choice will be the future driving force of the market. Artists will be forced to be more creative and improve their works, because they benefit only from good ones (the ones that sell)

Music thieves are running out of excuses.

PS: cds may get smashed so that justifies backing up, but giving/selling the back-up to somebody is wrong. Think about this: if you smash your car or your chair, you have to get new ones. Why should it be different with a cd? And not having income is not an excuse at all. I can't afford an iPod, but the judge won't accept the "I'm poor" defense when I get caught stealing one.

Killa, I won't try and change your perception - just a shame that you think because you cannot afford to buy music, you are entitled to download it for free. Surely you can accept that what you are doing is illegal and wrong........whether you choose to stop is up to you, but surely you don't think your financial status wavers any legal problems?
Also - you think it should be legal - so who would pay the artists, and for what. Lets face it, if it were legal, I would be downloading like mad.........but I don't. I would assume everyone would do similar, so HOW would money be made to buy the jets etc. Where would the motivation for the artists to spend money without making any come from? Doesn't this now start sounding wrong, and hence why downloading music without paying for it is illegal?

Chips and Fear Factor have made the point. You can pick and choose the music you want for around .99 cents a song. That way, you have a CD full of just the songs you like. Well worth it to me. And, if all music downloads were free, no one would by the CD's and fewer would go to concerts, therefore, the Artist would make little or no money. True a CD cost little, but you are paying the person who "Prints" the CD, the marketer of the CD, the Store that sells the CD, and then the Artist and his end, which includes a producer, engineer, the others in the band, and any others who help produce the music. So in truth, The artist make little off the CD, unless it sells in the millions.

I have seen those that you pay a monthly fee, and have unlimited downloads, as well as those that pay per song. And as FF pointed out, you buy a new toaster, computer, stereo that breaks down, why not a new CD. I put all mine on my hard drive so I can mix the music up and burn a CD. But, I keep them, no one else gets them and I do not sell them. As to the comment of sharing them, that was the major complaint with Napster, sharing the music, without paying for it.

So, support you favorite group and buy the music.

To be fair though, toasters and the like come with warranties. Making a copy for yourself could be seen in a similar light.

Now, if this were a collective society...Lol nah, I don't think I'm allowed to get into Marxism here but you get my drift eh?

Actually FF, about that last statement you made about "I'm poor", a Dutch bisshop once said that you're allowed to steal a bread if you can't afford it. Let's hope that goes for iPods aswell

Wilde, you made a comment about radio stations playing music for free.

Like ****ing hell its free. Licenceing is through the roof, radio stations usually pay a fee to a governing body (in aus its APRA and the ABA), which gives it a license to play the music publicly. Restaurants in aus who play music have to be APRA members too.
Movies as well need to pay for music not written for the film, and thats where a lot of the money is spent.

You wanna know where a band makes money? Merchendise.

-:-
God is dead, and no-one cares.

Well, I've been downloading music since, hell its been about 5 years, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with it, sure im stealing and all that junk but, well, y'know what? I really could give a ****. I NEVER listened to music before I found out about MP3's and now I have a collection of a couple hundred, I could do without music just fine I just use it to have somethin to listen to when im at the comp. I think most of the CDs are full of crap except for a few songs, and with widely distributed programs like limewire and kazaa and millions of people sharing songs, it really doesnt make much sense to me to pay for it. Besides, like i said, I buy a cd with 2 good songs on it out of 12, it makes no sense to me at all, when I could just sit down at the comp, and in 2 minutes flat have the song I want and I dont even have to waste the time of going to the store and getting it. Either way, theres always 2 views on the subject, I download music and believe thats how its gonna be until they stop providing the programs to do so.

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks. "

Comont, did you read this part of the post FF made?

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ISPs advertise LEGAL music and movie downloads. Record companies DO suck, but still not an excuse to go and steal something you should've paid. I also agree that CDs nowadays have only one or two decent songs, the rest are substandard tunes. But remember Apple's music downloads? they're legal, cheap, and they don't force to to buy and listen to a bunch of craps you don't even want in the 1st place. Come on, can you really say ONE dollar (.99 cents, really) is TOO MUCH to pay for a good song? it's not global yet, but it's only a matter of time.

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To be honest, Albums most people will still buy in the shops - and about a tenner for an album isn't too steep.

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Actually here in NZ, most albums cost $30 to buy each. Now that's steep.