Video and Music Piracy

CantWait wrote: I believe you should be able to download music from the internet. There's times where I only want the one song and not a whole album. Just wondering what you all think.

Guest replied: I agree,,,,we download stuff all the time. I don't know what the difference is if you borrowed it from somebody and taped it. Its the same thing. Somebody who owned the cd put it on the internet and you copy it. They make enough money and more then everybody else,,they should stop whining about it already.

mckayleesmom replied: That was me

Mommieto2Girls replied: Yep, I think you should be able to get it off the internet to. If I can get it, then I should be able to have it.....lol

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I do think you should be able to get music off the internet although I never have. I don't have a membership to do it. What is a good place to download music? I just never have thought about doing it myself.

A&A'smommy replied: Yes i totally believe you should and i think the "artist" that pitched a fit about it are being selfish! It should be about money it should be about them sharing their passion and talent with EVERYONE! I also think they need to get over themselves and just not worry about it because people are still buying their cds and they wont stop because cds are more reliable then saving music files and because people want them!

A&A'smommy replied: oh dont try to d/l music right now! The just busted a 12 year old little girl for d/ling music i think they last number i heard of people they are fining HUGE amounts of money was something like 12,000!!! So right now isnt a good time...although if you really want to kazaa would be good and ALWAYS make sure you dont have anything in your "share" folder!

supermom replied: Well, coming from the other side of it, yes, I think you should be able to download it, FOR A PRICE!! Look, folks, if you get it from somone else (even if they paid for it) then that is piracy.... This comes from someone who's DH makes a few extra bucks writing software to sell (a specific software "helper" to play a specific game) - and he sells it fairly cheap - they have tried "hacking" his reg codes so they don't have to pay for it, but they've mananged to stop people so far. However, I do understand why the record industry is so upset about it - that song belongs to whoever wrote it, and it is their livelyhood - and if they can't sell it because everyone is stealing it, then they suffer. Granted, a lot of them can "afford" to but that isn't the point. The point is that it is theft, and that's a fact......

OK, now putting on my flame-proof suit - laugh - Just kidding, I know you all are not like that.

Heather replied: I think we should be able to but I agree that there should be a price for it. I wouldn't mind paying a monthly fee to be able to download unlimited amount of songs or something like that. It is how the artist pays the bills"

~CrazieMama~ replied: Yes I think we should be able to. If I can save images to my computer, then I should be able to save music as well.

ediep replied: yup, I think you should be able to download music, even if there is a fee involved. I would think either a monthly fee or a per song fee would be a good deal

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I voted yes, but for a price. Although I realize that artists are richer than most of us will ever be, they still only make a small percentage of money from each album they sell...if they only sell 100 000, they only make a few hundred thousand at the most...which doesn't cut it for the cost of recording the album and payingthe employees, etc etc etc.

I have done it - but only beause I didn't WANT the other songs, I thought they sucked. I'd have no issues with paying a small fee...but no more than like 25 cents a song. I htink that if, really, artists cared so much about people stealing their stuff... they should have some sort of CD where there is no code to record what's on it.

There will ALWAYS be piracy around...and I will always download songs.

jcc64 replied: Well, the people whose profits have primarily suffered as a result of file sharing are hideously overpaid record executives who I view as leeches anyway. The actual artists receive a very small percentage of each cd sold. And the type of artists who generally are upset about piracy are the mega-rich, already famous, don't need any more exposure or money bands like Motley Crue, the Eagles, etc. Lesser known or just starting out artists who can't or don't have the massive marketing machine of a major label behind them desperately need the instant exposure that the internet provides, and you don't hear any of them complaining. CD's are actually cheaper to make than the old vinyl albums, but the music industry decided to charge MORE, not less, so remember that when you're tempted to feel sorry for some greedy millionaire. They're just pissed b/c they haven't figured out how to exploit the net for their own gain yet.
As for the artists, some are actually successfully bypassing the industry and selling their own records online. Without the expense and power of the music industry, they will sell far less, but will keep 100% of the profit. In the end, they'll probably come out ahead.

MommyToAshley replied: I think it should be free and paid for by advertising... just like the radio. Then, everyone would be happy. You get the music you enjoy for free, the artists get paid, and someone may even get a new job selling advertising.

MomofTay&Sam replied: I say nope! LOL I guess I am the odd ball. Not only is it illegal it's very unsafe for your comp. If I want just one song than I do it all on my stereo from an album.

kit_kats_mom replied: While I do think that the CD's cost way too much, I also think that the artists should receive some payment for their work.

I am an aquaintance of the guys from Creed and those guys sure didn't get rich off of record sales..they get very little from each album sold after the agents, producers, studios etc get their share. I think that by the song fees are great. If a song is really good, and you want it, then you can buy it. That caters to people like me, in their 30's who just refuse to pay...what does a cd cost these days anyway??...for one song that makes us feel somewhat hip for a few minutes.
We actually have a HUGE collection of MP3's that we've collected by copying our friends cd's. However, we mainly use it for our personal use and we certianly don't make any money on it.