(07-24-2010 02:18 AM)cevor Wrote:  Not everyone is happy with something they rip off from the internet

I don't consider downloading music "ripping off", for a multitude of reasons. Nonetheless, I didn't say everyone would be happy with it, only that many would be, which makes album sales a poor indicator of how many people are discovering new music.

(07-24-2010 02:18 AM)cevor Wrote:  your rationale is extremely narrow-minded. Imagine what album sales could be if people couldn't steal music from the artists.

I don't see what you're trying to say here. You've made a statement of the form "imagine what A could be if B", without explaining why A is inherently a good thing. I could equally well say "imagine how much money banks could make if people couldn't withdraw money from their accounts".

(07-24-2010 07:23 AM)Electrophile Wrote:  No offense, but this is ridiculous. I was born in 1982. By the time I was old enough to get an allowance and go buy things with that money, PF was no more. So when I got into the band and started collecting their work.....they weren't out there making more albums and touring. So by your rationale, I shouldn't have bought any of the vinyl albums/CDs that I did, because they weren't making anything at the time and buying the older stuff is just a waste.

I'm sorry, but I don't think so. How else is someone going to start collecting an artist's work that they like unless they buy it? I'm not going to download something I want to physically have. I like taking the vinyl out and putting it on my record player -- you can't do that with an mp3.

I support Pink Floyd because I'm a huge fan. Part of that is buying their back catalog. It's not going to make a hill of beans difference to them financially whether I do or I don't, but it means that there's another person out there listening to and loving their music, the same as someone was when the records first came out.

In the case where you like to have a physical vinyl/CD copy, you're paying for the medium, not the music. In many ways, this is akin to buying merchandise, only in your case the merchandise can be played back on a turntable. Nonetheless, I didn't say that it was wrong to buy music or that you shouldn't be, only that I don't think it's wrong to get it in other ways either.

(07-24-2010 03:01 PM)cevor Wrote:  

(07-24-2010 02:48 PM)forreverendgreen Wrote:  

(07-24-2010 02:18 AM)cevor Wrote:  Imagine what album sales could be if people couldn't steal music from the artists.

Piracy is not theft. Theft removes the original. Piracy makes a copy. Not theft.

Sorry broseph, had to. :(

Good point, but it's still illegal

A lot of things are illegal that aren't necessarily wrong, like smoking weed.

(07-24-2010 03:01 PM)cevor Wrote:  and it's taking from the artist without their permission.

Taking what from the artist? In many cases, people who download music wouldn't be buying it anyway, whether it's because they can't afford to or because they don't want to spend $30 on something they don't know if they'll like. If the artist isn't losing anything, then you haven't "taken" from them in any meaningful sense.

Moreover, in some cases illegal file sharing actually helps artists to make money. I have discovered at least one band illegally that I later went and purchased CDs from, who never would have made those sales if not for me obtaining their music illegally.