# Amazon's MP3 store. AKA This is why people pirate music **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401 "2013-02-26T01:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401/21 "2013-02-27T00:09:19Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You’re right; I posted as I did without reading anything but the OP. By the way, I apologize for the last sentence in my post. I didn’t intend it as snark and I probably could have done without putting it in there. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401/22 "2013-02-27T00:29:44Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > By the way, I apologize for the last sentence in my post. I didn’t intend it as snark and I probably could have done without putting it in there. I didn’t perceive it as snark. No worries. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401/23 "2013-02-27T00:43:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > In 1992 or so, when I was selling electronics, I would take about 50 CDs with me back and forth to work every day so I could have a variety of musical styles available to play for stereo buyers. One day I lost them on the bus. Should Tower Records have replaced them all for me? > > Please explain your answer. When you purchased those CDs, you purchased a licence to listen to that music. The licence agreement states that ownership of the licence automatically transfers with the physical media to the person who possesses the physical media. The person who benefited from your misfortune and unexpectedly acquired 50 new CDs for the price of a bus fare now owns the licence to listen to that music. If the record companies issued you replacements, they would be giving you both physical media and issuing another licence for free, at expense to themselves. By contrast, the lost MP3s no longer exist. Their licence shouldn’t need to be repurchased because it hasn’t passed to someone else, and there are no production costs associated with replacing digital media - where a replacement CD would need to be manufactured, a booklet printed and it would need to be assembled, packaged, transported, an MP3 would simply require a trivial expense in bandwidth to replace. They are selling intellectual property and making it obey the rules of physical property. You shouldn’t have to purchase a new licence to replace a lost file, though possibly they could put a reasonable use restriction on the number of downloads so you can’t abuse it and turn those trivial bandwidth expenses into significant expenses. I also believe that if you return your destroyed CD to them, they should allow you to buy a replacement for the cost of the media alone (and postage /handling), and not charge you for a new licence. The fragility of physical media shouldn’t cost you intellectual property. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401/24 "2013-02-27T00:46:15Z")
Oh, and Skald - you were violating the licence agreement on those CDs if you were playing them in public to others. J’accuse! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401/25 "2013-02-27T19:21:23Z")
None of this is a legitimate reason to pirate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazons-mp3-store-aka-this-is-why-people-pirate-music/651401.md?page=1)