DescentBB

In light of this neverending controversy, let's see how everyone feels about file sharing.

Swapping files implies you upload as well as download, doesn't it? Well, I only download. And, as far as music, I usually only download stuff I've purchased in the past.

Forgot to put this as a poll answer.

I swap files but buy them later once I've tested to see if it's worth it.

Unfortunately once the first vote is cast I cannot re-word or add options. There's always going to be some sort of loophole people reserve for themselves but I try to limit the scope so the results are easier to interpret. In this case, let's leave motive out of it (as in sampling with the intent to purchase) and focus simply on the ACT of EITHER UPLOADING or DOWNLOADING and whether you feel it is RIGHT or WRONG.

i know its wrong but i do it anyway, just the same as alot of the things i do.

on the flip side, ive bought music and dvd's i never would have in the past though. nowhere near the amount ive downloaded, but more than i would had i not downloaded.

I don't consider it any more wrong than making mix tapes for friends.

or photocopying a book at the library

I think it's wrong but personally, I don't care what anyone else does. I think it's outrageous that the record industry wants to charge 18 bucks for a CD. To me, they get what they deserve. They rape the consumer every which way the can then cry foul because CD sales are down. Haven't the figured that they can't keep churning out the same crap day in and out and expect consumers to eat it. You can't really justify file sharing, it IS stealing, it's not right, but the record company steals from us everyday

You can call it justification, but we keep getting robbed by the record companies so I'm doing my part to rob em back

Is it stealing? Yeah I guess, but it's not like the musicians are getting any less money from it. Seen that South Park episode where the kids get busted for file-sharing? That about sums up my opinion on the matter.

Beo, that is my point; the recording artists stand a chance of rewriting the way they are compensated for their works, but only if they can reduce the power of the recording industry to be the chokepoint. Musicians have been trying for eons to get more of a share of the profits from their CDs instead of making their money the hard way on the road from ticket and t-shirt sales. Their fight with the recording industry is undermined by sharing. Sharing actually makes organizations like the RIAA more of a necessary evil to fledgling artists. You aren't *robbing back* the recording industry, you are tightening it's grip on the people who are struggling to bring new music to you. Trust me, the recording execs aren't taking any pay cuts. In order to maintain their bottom lines, they cut the budgets for new artist development.

I don't really know how to answer the poll. I download copyrighted material only to listen to once then I delete it. I do this if the publisher doens't have clips of the album on their site and I want to know what's on a CD before buying it. So, I think it is right and I think it is a right to be able to download songs listen to them then delete them immediately. I do not think it is right for someone to download music for free and burn it to a CD though.

See, the problem here is that there is an underlying assumption that downloading music hurts sales. I disagree with that assumption strongly.

The reason the RIAA is claiming that it does is that the Top 10 album sales have decreased dramatically over the years (but, interestingly enough, not total album sales). Well whatdya know, their cookie-cutter cash cows aren't making them as much money as they could've. Boo hoo.

Besides, I don't listen to new music

Beowulf wrote:Besides, I don't listen to new music

ditto

i've bought 3 cd's in the past 6 months, 2 of them based on previous works of the artist and 1 because i downloaded it first and it was awesome.

the 2 i bought without trying first sucked, and i promptly resold them. there just isn't enough good music lately for me to be insterested. i listen to stuff ive been listening to for years.

I try before I buy. Then I buy from somewhere like overstock.com where the CD's are $10 or under.

I'm only buying CD's to fill in the gaps of albums from artists I enjoy. Like live recordings of Floyd I don't currently have, or something. I haven't, nor will I, probably buy any CD's of 'today's artists'. Can't really call them artists, when maybe 5% actually write the music/lyrics they play.

I give away music about the same as when cassettes were the rage. A few here and there. Mostly mixes, like Tetrad said.