Apply more thought and everything will become clear.Venatio said:
Just because they're people with hearts and dreams doesn't make everything they do right.
So my friend thinks that internet piracy not only doesn't harm the music industry, but helps it
- Thread starter Inarticulate_Underachiever
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Just because they're people with hearts and dreams doesn't make everything they do right.
As someone with about 70 gig of pirated music, over 300 legally bought CDs, £100 of gig tickets, £70 of official band merchandise and who is about to spend £185 on festival tickets I can say that yes in my case downloading has made me spend far more than I ever would have on music. Of course there are people who just download music and never pay for merchandise or gigs or anything, but those people are dicks and we should all tell them that at every opportunity.
Because the artists make money from the concerts and the publuishers take the revenue from record sales. Artist do get some royalties though. The publishers lose money whereas the artists don't and I care less about the publishers than I do about my CO2 footprint ( very little).Kukul said:
Our highschool music teacher was the guitarist and singer of one or two somewhat successful finnish rock bands. He told us to download their albums if we wanted to, the only thing they see from album sales is a warm smile. Gigs is how they make money. He was obviously a music teacher, so he wasn't even making a living off those gigs.
Probably different in bigger countries though. I know I've spent atleast 50 euros for gigs that I wouldn't have gone to, if I never pirated music. (Keep in mind that these gigs usually have cost me around 5 euros a pop)
Probably different in bigger countries though. I know I've spent atleast 50 euros for gigs that I wouldn't have gone to, if I never pirated music. (Keep in mind that these gigs usually have cost me around 5 euros a pop)
I have to agree with fluffybacon on this one. I can't get a job yet, and my family can barley afford rent no less an allowance. The smaples they give in stores are atrocious. I have never once heard a smaple in a store and even had the merest speculation on the tip of my thought process to acutally buy it. I rarley ever get anything in the way of media, so if I'm going to get something I want to know I'm going to enjoy it.fluffybacon said:
The thing is, the internet and downloading music illegally can vastly help to promote a band. Bands like the Arctic Monekys started out that way - they had a Myspace page with thousands of friends where someone had uploaded their demos that they didn't even know about. So I would say as a generalisation that illegal file sharing can help exposure, and also as a direct result increase ticket sales to concerts, as a lot of indie bands wouldn't have the publicity and profile they get without the promotion the internet provides.Inarticulate_Underachiever said:
On the other hand, it hurts album sales. A lot. Sure, more people will hear the music as people that wouldn't normally buy the album will download it or have it recommended to them, but the sales of albums and CDs in general has dropped by quite a large margin. I'd hazard a guess that unless the human population increases by a substantial amount, that Michael Jackson's Thriller will stay as the highest selling record of all time - if you look at the top ten selling albums, apart from a Backstreet Boys album, they are all from the 70's and 80's.
I'm sure that the music industry will have to change over the coming years to adapt to illegal downloads - perhaps there might have to be some kind of advertising used in order to ensure profits for the artists.
I don't care about supporting the record companies, but if I like a band I want to help support the musicians.
They sell music, what can they do wrong? Scheme to raise the price of their records by 15 cents?insanelich said:
Bwahahaha! And they shall not be able to afford gumballs that they can chew while they listen to the music, those dirty kids! Now lets throw darts at a picture of Mother Teresa!
i pirate music, but later on i buy it if i like it and delete it if i dont, because i don't want to spend money on a CD that will suck ( new Megadeth Album )
So it will do something...Also, not everyone buys the merch associated with the band. Assuming that pirating their albums leads to someone wanting a hoodie with the band logo on it does not directly follow.Inarticulate_Underachiever said:
1)A lot of music videos on youtube are legally there, they will still have a way of hearing new music before they buy. 2) Disregarding the sale of individual albums because they don't have as much weight as merch is simply asinine. It's a logical fallacy if I've ever seen one. The company needs all they can get, which means they still need album sales.
Back in my pirating days I never once bought an album. Why would I? I can download all of hte songs on the album and put it on a CD if I really wanted to. I also only went to one concert and bought absolutely no merch related to any bands.
My honest opinion on piracy is as follows.
If you made your movies, music, or games more affordable then people wouldn't be pirating them now would they? Maybe charging 29 bucks for a ten song album is a bit overpriced. Also, those artists that don't want to "sell out" to iTunes, those are the ones pirated the most. If someone likes one song on AC/DC's Black Ice album, they still need to go buy the whole thing. I think that is ridiculous. So in a roundabout way, it could help them if the companies got the damn message and lowered prices just a tad. Also, if people really like the band, they usually will buy the CD, it's when they only like 2 or three songs from the album that pirating really kicks in. Well, that's how it is with people I know anyway.
If you made your movies, music, or games more affordable then people wouldn't be pirating them now would they? Maybe charging 29 bucks for a ten song album is a bit overpriced. Also, those artists that don't want to "sell out" to iTunes, those are the ones pirated the most. If someone likes one song on AC/DC's Black Ice album, they still need to go buy the whole thing. I think that is ridiculous. So in a roundabout way, it could help them if the companies got the damn message and lowered prices just a tad. Also, if people really like the band, they usually will buy the CD, it's when they only like 2 or three songs from the album that pirating really kicks in. Well, that's how it is with people I know anyway.
Your friend is right. I speak from experience: only a small percentage of a band's earnings come from album sales. Most of the money comes from merchandise and concerts.
Imagine this: Someone learns about a band or singer. They proceed to download a few of their songs (hell, maybe even an album or discography, along with the DVDs and whatnot). They like it... in fact, they love it. They then buy all the CDs and DVDs.
"Oh! But of course, very few people do that!" I hear you cry. Alright, let's suppose this person downloads all the songs and DVDs but doesn't buy a single one of them. That doesn't matter, since albums and DVDs are a small part of the earnings. Most of the money comes from merch and gigs, and you can't very well pirate those.
Plus, think about this: There's this artist I don't care much about, but who has one song I love. I pirate that song, and I'm done with it. I was not going to put a single cent into that guy's account anyway, so it doesn't hurt him.
And if you're really fanatical about a band or singer, you'll buy the albums even if it's just for the photos and the feeling of possession.
Imagine this: Someone learns about a band or singer. They proceed to download a few of their songs (hell, maybe even an album or discography, along with the DVDs and whatnot). They like it... in fact, they love it. They then buy all the CDs and DVDs.
"Oh! But of course, very few people do that!" I hear you cry. Alright, let's suppose this person downloads all the songs and DVDs but doesn't buy a single one of them. That doesn't matter, since albums and DVDs are a small part of the earnings. Most of the money comes from merch and gigs, and you can't very well pirate those.
Plus, think about this: There's this artist I don't care much about, but who has one song I love. I pirate that song, and I'm done with it. I was not going to put a single cent into that guy's account anyway, so it doesn't hurt him.
And if you're really fanatical about a band or singer, you'll buy the albums even if it's just for the photos and the feeling of possession.
I stopped buying albums when Sony BMG started putting Rootkits in their CDs. Blame the music industry for ruining the music industry.
Now that is a really interesting example who was that band? Do we have any figures to back this up? I mean while that band that I am sure really does exist is a powerful message but without real numbers behind it we might just be talking about an isolated incident here. Or are we just making the whole thing up.Kwil said:
Really guys we could soapbox the day away but is there any thing that supports one side or an other? Lets ignore the idea that every pirated copy is a miss sale as I think we all know that is bunk. So lets look at research into this, I know there have been studies that have shown that piracy is good for the music industry and there have also been the opposite (though some are rather tainted by association) so I guess every one is right. Yay us.