sorry, if this is not interesting for you, but i want to discuss the problem of free music in the internet.

there are many sites where you can
download music.
You don't have to pay for it because you can find free-music-there is a kind of war between singers that don't like free-online-music
and people that doesn't want to pay and looks for free-mp3-music
i think that music must be almost free because lot's of people just can't afford buing music and they try to dowload music for free.

may be not every music downloadmust be free
i can't imagine one who looks for free piano music.if it is really qualitive it may cost money...

but if you download pop musicyou should not pay

so what is your opinion on this subject?
do you download online music?

i used so many links just to check BB-code... actually i've neevr used it before...
there is nothing interesting there. don't click.


MOD EDIT: Don't worry...I edited it. That is condsidered advertising and we do not allow that. I am also moving this thread to a more appropriate forum.

Moving this topic to this forum so you guys can discuss this issue. Free downloads?

The big issue in the music world. I don't think the illegal downloads are right no matter what, but the legal ones should be okay. I wouldn't do any of them though because I belive that a person should buy the cd and show their respect to the artist who worked hard on it no matter what. That's just what I think on the subject though.

for me, downloading isn't an issue, as the only "illegal" ones I have are from major corporate labels, that don't give the artists money anyways, and the indie label bands I usualy want are not big enough to be on limewire or anything...

P.S. Vinyl is still the best.

I wouldn't download anything that was free. I'm a bit cynical I guess, but there's usually a catch with anything that's too good to be true.

Then you got the risk of viruses or crappy (can we say that here?) copies that aren't worth the effort anyway. Maybe it's my PC but they always take forever to download and I just think it's easier to go the store, because at least you've always got the hard copy, and they're so cheap anyway. If your computer goes AWOL, as they're prone to do, you've lost it all, so nah.

If you have to pay for downloads, at least you have security. They keep records of the transaction and mostly you get to download them more than once.

Get what you pay for, guys.

I completely agree, Sacred_Feminine. About 5 years ago, when Napster, Kazaa, and Bearshare were new and on the rise. And pretty much legal. Everybody in school had one or the other on their computer and listened to the music all the time. So I downloaded Kazaa, and of course it left numerous viruses on my computer. End of the story is that it messed up my computer so bad that I had to get a new one . I am lucky that it was an old computer....

Ever since I have used iTunes for my iPod. I pay $0.99 for every song that I get from it. I suppose that it is not a terrible price considering most CD's cost around $20.00 for only 10 songs or so.

A few months ago, though, I was getting pretty frusterated that iTunes did not have all of the songs that I wanted to buy. So I did the unthinkable -- I downloaded Bearshare *dun*dun*dun*dun*!

It was terrible. It gave my computer at least 50 viruses. Only around 5-10 were dangerous, thankfully, and I was able to get rid of most of them with my antivirus program. That is just really annoying ...

So basically, the best stuff in life is not always free.




_daviD

Oh my gosh... You guys were making me feel so bad!! My brother downloaded this program thing for my computer that basically downloads free music.. Well, you know. I've been using it for a pretty long time now and it hasn't given me any viruses. But the thing is. It's illegal. I feel pretty bad but we're not made of money or anything. And the iTunes services don't extend to our distant land.. ehehe.. But if I really like the songs from a particular band or what not, I buy the CD. Or if I want to support indie bands, I buy their CDs too. I think it's kinda like a give and take kind of thing between download-ers. I download songs from an album they've got and I share the songs from the CDs I've got. It isn't the nicest thing to do, but it's a drug. It got me addicted.

PS. Esrb99 already mentioned my program, and I kinda agree with him/her.

Oh well... Illegal

I mean I think it is pretty wrong when people use these programs to download a complete album or the major part if it. Come on! If you like it so much, save some money and buy it!
Personally if I like a lot the music from some group, singer or whatever I dye for have the original stuff. This is a way to show how much you appreciate their talent.
I can understand the download thing when, for example, you want to give a party and some music is over there which you enjoy to dance but not particularly like. So you download a group of songs from different sources and that is it. Because the argument is rather valid. How are you going to spend $20 for each cd (with about 16 songs) when you just like one of them? It has no sense. itunes is a great idea though, for those who can acces that service.

Some people just use the download programs when they can not find what they want anywhere else. In my country some things are pretty hard to find and even, sometimes, impossible. Me, another example, use a couple of programms to download anime, because where I live is really really complicated to can obtain some anime series or manga volumes.

The thing about viruses is kind of difficult, but anyway just surffing the web you can get infected. Of course when we are talking about data transfer the risk is very high so you have to look for safe programs and have a good antivirus and antispyware. But anyway think that the people who made whatever you are downloading had work on it so just do not use it all the time but as a last resource. They must be pay for what they do like any other worker.

You can, however, enjoy completely legal music downloads from some sites, although these are mostly unsigned bands. You would be very surprised at the quality of what's out there, however. My MP3 player is full of sample tracks from garage bands who are actually a lot more accomplished and polished than touring acts...

As for downloading commercially available artists' songs of the net, well it is illegal. But than again, so was recording albums on tape back in the day, but I think very, very few people actually were really concerned about it... The issue here is not the starving artist, it is the record companies not getting every nickel and dime out of every song as they possibly can. When people bought tapes to record albums, they got a cut as there was a hidden tax/tariff on tapes which went to them. The same is true of DVD-R, CD-R and all today. What tiks them of about the MP3 business is that you don't need media anymore. You can bet that we'll see some fee applied on the sale of MP3 players before long (if it's not already there...)

Having said that, I always buy the CD when I want to have an artist's work. Sometimes, however, it gets downright impossible (for instance when the CD has been dropped of the catalogues). Then, if I really need the song, I may seek to download it, but only after I've exhausted every other avenue.

Okay...I don't really agree with the downloading thing but I do really like to download songs!!! I only download them when I want a single song or something. But if the song is good, I'll buy the whole album because downloading the whole album needs a whole lot of time, and albums have lyrics book and stuff, and they are pretty!!!

hey, when you have an ipod, do you have to pay for the songs you download? my friends download songs on the internet all the time and put it on their ipods and it's free. is that illegal?

It depends. there are manny sites that do this illegal, and some aren't. I would try purevolume.com they have free downloads, that isn't illegal. Sometimes people get caught, touhg. I would be careful, and buy from itunes, or legal websites.

Well, I think it's bad for the bands of course but sometimes one just doesn't have any money! Sometimes you like the band so much you can't wait until you save up money to buy cds...

I understand some bands get upset by it but...they have to remember how it was like, when they weren't famous and didn't have any money either

I also have trouble downloading music for free. It either doesn't save, or it just sends me in endless circles. Like if i click on "download song" it sends me to a menu that says :
Download music video
Download lyrics
Download song
URL: .....
And other annoying things. Then i click on cownload song and it sends me to that^ menu again.
I found a site that's pretty good.
www.yourmp3.net
You just look the song up, then you cllick on download song. Then you right click on downlaod song and then "save target as.."
It works! ... sometimes.

I dont think its that bad, I downloud. I just dont download entire CDS, or stuff like that. Sometimes I will download a movie because I dont have a VCR in my room so I need stuff on DVD or I cant watch it. Hince I download movies.

But I think its wrong to download something and make copys for all your friends,

Hey!
Yes, I download music. I live in Bulgaria and here everything is very expensive - especially CDs and DVDs. It is very wrong but we haven`t got enough money. I love music and last week I buy one Evanescence`s CD.. But everyone - my friends, my parents download. I feel pretty bad of that.

Tourniquet you are so right everything is so expensive here where I live, in Belgium, it's just like that well maybe not that expensive like in your country but still. I think it's wrong to download music but it's cheaper, that's true. Everyone around me downloads but I don't (this sounds so stupid) I think it's bad to download because there are people who have to live from selling CD's and DVD's.

1. I don't download any music unless it's rare and I can't find it anywhere else.
2. It's bad for the artists if people download music since more money can be made from album sales.

I'm a traditionalist which means I like to go out and buy the actual album, complete with album sleeve and so on. I like to have the official version and I'm against piracy.
In this day of music industry, money isn't made from albums anymore. It's mainly touring that brings in the wages.

Most people will avoid paying for music if they can help it - great way to help your favourite band along.

I'm not a fan of piracy, but as I mainly like random songs, even old songs, I couldn't get an entire cd, because I don't have the money enough as to do "the big Edward Cullen" and have a homey music store.

I usually download songs, but it's usually for my friends and not me!!!

I download.. I don't have that much money to buy all the music I want to listen to and in addition it is mostly the recordsompany that makes the money. Offcourse I buy some music. I have rule that says I have to buy albums from bands that I know aren't making much money, mostly scandinavian bands. I'm thinking that bands that are not from scandinavia must have money, because otherwise they would not have been imported here.

I will not stop pirating until I see Beyonce or whoever lay in the streets begging for money, not living in a trillion dollar mansion!

I have downloaded before, but now I try to do that less. Instead of just downloading illegally, sometimes you can go to the artists' sites if they have one, and they might have a link that will give you a legal download on iTunes or it will give you a music video that will have the full song. I admit that downloading is much easier to do, and is cheaper, but I feel better knowing that I'm not breaking the law.

I hate to admit it, but I also download music since I love so many artists. It's just really hard to get all that money to pay for them! My parents don't really mind but they buy their music off of iTunes because they don't have as many songs. I hear of people releasing singer's albums on the internet weeks before the actual release dates and I think that it's wrong to do that. Can't those people just be patient? It's not like they are going to make that much money because they are not the famous people. Yes, downloading is wrong, so I only download once or twice a month. I'm trying to cut back. Really, I am!

I have changed my views since I was a mere boy of 16. I am staunchly against piracy.
Why, you may ask?
Because as someone who is so in love with music that I want to spend as much time possible making, listening to it, I have no choice but to live off it. sucks, but that is the case. I have begun building a recording studio, ant it is so expensive. 300 grand for a console, 25 grand for outboard pres, another 30 grand for other outboard gear, 25 grand on mics, and we're not even talking a building yet!!! a pro studio is expensive to run, with low profit margins. bands record for a month or so straight for between 25 and 75 grand at a major studio. no biggie, right? well, studios are NOT with labels, they are freelancers. lots of that 20-75 grand goes to engineers and techs, cables, and especially tape! since reel to reel tape is only manufactured by two companies worldwide, a reel of tape(about 25 minutes) costs between $45 and $150! factor in hundreds of takes, copies, cutting tape and splicing it together... its a costly business.

Most studio owners consider themselves successful if they can do what they love, and still raise a family away from the violent streets... and yet this is harder to do when you can't even pay electricity bills at your workplace! Studios are closing left and right, its a very sad time.

I used to download a lot off of itunes and such but now a lot of times I buy the CD and learn all the songs and if I like them enough I put them in my itunes. I like having CDs for my car and to listen to at night instead of my ipod.

I download all my music from iTunes and pay for it like everyone should. Yes, some things are a bit overpriced there but if I want it that much, it's worth it! Sometimes, it's impossible to buy a single song from an album but it's easy enough to find it somewhere else. If I can't find it anywhere else, I download it from YouTube as a last resort but I've only ever had to do that once. I really hate piracy and actually feel a bit guilty if I get a song without paying for it.