I was just curious to see how many people actually pay for songs on iTunes instead of pirating music.
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Pirating mp3s or downloading via iTunes
- Thread starter buymeaniphone
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I don't really buy songs off iTunes. Neither do I pirate music.
I either buy the CDs or use emusic.com
We don't allow discussions of how to pirate. We do allow general discussions about piracy (arn has decided that's OK). And I don't think the OP is advocating piracy, merely asking about what others do.
I don't buy CDs. I support artists by going to their shows and buying merch.
CDs are a thing of the past. We have been overcharged for years and many new bands are making their own labels.
CDs are a thing of the past. We have been overcharged for years and many new bands are making their own labels.
I will admit I used to pirate some stuff when I was younger and naive to the consequences (3+ years ago). 
Now I ONLY download from iTunes. Its actually easier, you know what you are getting and the quality is always good. Im not a massive music person but 90% of the time I have music playing when im on my Mac so my library is larger than it would normally be purely because I use a Mac. Weird but true!
Now I ONLY download from iTunes. Its actually easier, you know what you are getting and the quality is always good. Im not a massive music person but 90% of the time I have music playing when im on my Mac so my library is larger than it would normally be purely because I use a Mac. Weird but true!
Does that mean that you don't listen to music that was sourced from copyrighted CDs or that you steal the music?
My dad is a musican in a band that has been around since the early 80's. They have several albums on the iTunes music store but he says he doesn't care if people download their music from a Peer-to-Peer program. He says they make most of their money from concerts and sales of CD's and other stuff at concerts. They hardly get anything from iTunes and other digital distributers. He would rather people download their music from say Limewire and find out about them free and then go to their concert, they would make more money that way. But that is just his opinion, but it does make sense.
I buy some CD's, but mostly I've been buying single tracks on iTunes. I don't really find that the RIAA is interested in putting out albums full of quality content. One decent track is enough sometimes, apparently. Tired of getting burned.
I honestly wouldn't mind if iTunes also offered a subscription option, so that I could sample music before I buy [in more than 30 second sound bites]. I just have less disposable income for music these days. A wife, kids, and keeping up with the video game industry will do that to a person.
I honestly wouldn't mind if iTunes also offered a subscription option, so that I could sample music before I buy [in more than 30 second sound bites]. I just have less disposable income for music these days. A wife, kids, and keeping up with the video game industry will do that to a person.
i pirated music 5+ years ago, when napster was still free and was an unlimited source of tunes. i literally would hear a song, download it, and then download all the other songs by that artist (i was on a T3 connection at school). i built up quite a collection back then.
now i buy from iTunes. i don't buy CD's because i don't like having the cases and the booklets...i buy music for the music, not the extras.
i have a lot more disposable income now then i did 5 years ago, but the difference is now when i don't have the money to spend on a song or an album, i just don't get it right away.
now i buy from iTunes. i don't buy CD's because i don't like having the cases and the booklets...i buy music for the music, not the extras.
i have a lot more disposable income now then i did 5 years ago, but the difference is now when i don't have the money to spend on a song or an album, i just don't get it right away.
I regard mp3s/AACs as a backup of my vinyl.
Where something's available on vinyl as well as CD, I'm going to undertake a project this year to replace as many of those CDs with vinyl equivalents, keeping my AACs and mp3s for iPod use.
In some cases I've purchased music on iTunes that I've subsequently re-purchased on vinyl. Each time that happens, I'm paying 2x for the same music. I would have no qualms about 'illegally' getting mp3s of an album I've purchased on a non-digital format like vinyl.
It's inflexibility around repurchasing that I think offends people (me included) and has led to major labels viewing their artists as cash-cows ripe for exploitation each time there's a format change.
Broadly I do believe that it's really important that musicians are somehow remunerated for their music. In some cases, going to shows isn't enough. Most unsigned bands are paid almost nothing for playing live.
Where something's available on vinyl as well as CD, I'm going to undertake a project this year to replace as many of those CDs with vinyl equivalents, keeping my AACs and mp3s for iPod use.
In some cases I've purchased music on iTunes that I've subsequently re-purchased on vinyl. Each time that happens, I'm paying 2x for the same music. I would have no qualms about 'illegally' getting mp3s of an album I've purchased on a non-digital format like vinyl.
It's inflexibility around repurchasing that I think offends people (me included) and has led to major labels viewing their artists as cash-cows ripe for exploitation each time there's a format change.
Broadly I do believe that it's really important that musicians are somehow remunerated for their music. In some cases, going to shows isn't enough. Most unsigned bands are paid almost nothing for playing live.
I buy Cds, then burn it to my iPod. I do like the physicality and quality, and I only buy when every track is worth it, unless I get individual tracks fromiTunes. I remember when liner notes for CD's included interesting art and insights into the music, especially for my Jazz and Blues. My Resident CD's cover work is interestingly evil (in a good way), and while I could get some of their art off the net, it's not the same as on the CD.
i pirated music 5+ years ago, when napster was still free and was an unlimited source of tunes. i literally would hear a song, download it, and then download all the other songs by that artist (i was on a T3 connection at school). i built up quite a collection back then.
now i buy from iTunes. i don't buy CD's because i don't like having the cases and the booklets...i buy music for the music, not the extras.
i have a lot more disposable income now then i did 5 years ago, but the difference is now when i don't have the money to spend on a song or an album, i just don't get it right away.
I did too 5+ years ago. This was pre-ITMS so napster was a good source of singles. Yet with the 750-1500 songs that I downloaded at least 98% of them were live bootlegs. I love the extra solos, funked up versions, and other kewl things bands do live, it really can capture a singer's passion more than the studio. So I grabbed a lot of DMB, GN'R, LiVE, and Pearl Jam live stuff via napster. Of course Pearl Jam and DMB have since then made a lot of their concerts available on CD or download. So I buy those now. And of course I use iTunes. No more peer to peer for me.
*shrug* I feel differently about the covers and album art-- it doesn't just seem like an 'extra' to me. I feel like to some artists, it is an extension of their musical, auditory art. It's a way for them to visually convey a part of their art.
So yup, CD buyer here. Like Bartelby, I'll occasionally use eMusic. And yeah, I'll admit to it, I also get music from friends.
Neither do I, but even if we take them out of the picture, piracy does have an impact. More on the artist and other people who did the work on the album, than the labels, in the form of less money for them to produce more albums, and crappier contracts the RIAA claims they need to have to help combat the effects of piracy.
As for myself, I usually don't have a choice in how I get my music. I import a chunk of it on CD because of restrictions on sites like iTunes not being able to carry music from Europe or Asia in the US store, or not having the people I listen to. I tend to follow a few specific bands, both with local releases, and not-so-local releases. Makes it pretty affordable to import the CDs I want, because of how few albums I buy a year (Something like 5 in a given year).
I buy my music off iTunes and then I know that while the quality may not be the best, it downloads quickly, and unlike peer to peer, you know you are getting the same consistent quality. For instance I used to use WinMx and Limewire about three years ago. However now I am a complete iTunes fanatic. I buy some albums off there and a great many singles. (Probably bought around 500).
When I used to get free music off p2p, sometimes you would get a really slow download and more often than not if it was recorded off the radio there would be some commentary at the end.
I now can't understand why so many people advocate programs like Limewire and get stuff without paying for it. Would you walk out of a record store and not pay for it? No, didn't think so. Add to the fact that a lot of these applications are horribly designed and bring problems to people's computers (well PC's ).
When I used to get free music off p2p, sometimes you would get a really slow download and more often than not if it was recorded off the radio
there would be some commentary at the end. I now can't understand why so many people advocate programs like Limewire and get stuff without paying for it. Would you walk out of a record store and not pay for it? No, didn't think so. Add to the fact that a lot of these applications are horribly designed and bring problems to people's computers (well PC's
).
Like a few people here, I too did the bad thing when Napster was in it's heyday (~ 2000/2001). I was at Uni with a ridculously fast connection and songs would play instantly as they downloaded faster than I could listen to them. I really used it as an unlimited music library online - friends came over and we just put on a record by playing as live off napster.
Interestingly I went to university with a record collection of about 10 cds. I left uni with over 100 that I had bought in the shops having discovered so much music on Napster and wanting more / better quality. So, ironically, my dark days of piracy were responsible for the main growth of my CD collection.
Interestingly I went to university with a record collection of about 10 cds. I left uni with over 100 that I had bought in the shops having discovered so much music on Napster and wanting more / better quality. So, ironically, my dark days of piracy were responsible for the main growth of my CD collection.
I'll be perfectly honest and say that I have downloaded MP3s/AACs. But the other side of this coin is that I usually wind up buying the CDs anyhow from Amazon or used from Rasputin or Amoeba (local to the Bay Area) for reasons others have said above - better quality, ownership, "backup" copy. Frankly, most downloaded music sucks in quality (including iTMS - sorry Apple) - so, I usually buy the CD out of irritation or simply delete the song if I decide it's nothing I want. I've got a bunch of those zipper folios - Buy the CD, rip into iTunes, take it out of the case and slip it into one of the folios. I usually wind up giving away bunches of CD cases on Craigslist now and again.
I like my music to smell of bacon...
read into that what you will.
But I tend to agree with those who say "I hate large music labels more than pirates".
Support the bands you like, thats what I say!
read into that what you will.
But I tend to agree with those who say "I hate large music labels more than pirates".
Support the bands you like, thats what I say!