I just wanted to know how others fell about MP3. Most of the people I know (I’m in college) have many hours and hours of them on their hard drive. But I want to know how the rest of the population feels about MP3s. Do you think they take away from the artists or do they promote the industry?
my take on it is that they don’t do justice to the industry and the artists out there, and it takes their money away from them, how else are they sussposed to make money, concerts are just not enough to make money.
Although I’m too gulty of havng MP3s, I have about 1GB of music, but that is because I recently lost my all of my cd collection.
And they atcually got me back into the music secne.
if MP3s take over as the format of choice, then that is like having “made for tv movies” swallow up hollywodd. that would suck badly.
First of all 99% of my MP3’s are off of my cd’s so this is no different than putting a cd on an audio cassette for your own use.
MP3’s are also great for trying out music to see if you want to own it. I remember a similar row occured when “used cd” stores started popping up. Artists and companies complaining that they were losijng revenue. And you see how far they had gotten. Basically, I feel that so long as people aren’t using it as an alternative to buying albums, and either own it before they have the mp3, or if the mp3 causes them to buy the album or delete the mp3 everything is good.
How do you like that! And without so much as a “Kiss my foot” or “Have an apple”!
I actually bought a CD after downloading 3 MP3s to check out the band. This was from a band that I seriously doubt I would have ever heard without MP3. Since leaving the radio biz (well sort of, college radio) it’s been hard to stay in tune (sorry) with music. In that light, I think it is a great way to explore new sounds, pay the artist and buy the CD if you like them, move on if not.
A point in every direction is like no point at all
Exactly Oblio, there are too many cool bands that rarely, if ever, get radio play, and i like to check them out on MP3 but if i like them I always buy the album.
How do you like that! And without so much as a “Kiss my foot” or “Have an apple”!
MP3s in and of themselves are not harmful. I like that it gives artists a method of distributing their work without lots of overhead, and it takes some power away from the recording industry. I don’t like that they are being equivalized with piracy, because they are very convenient to me, and I don’t have any pirate MP3s on my system. What I like to do is take the few tracks from any albums I buy that are any good and rip them to my collection, then lock up the cd. I’d support public domain mp3s if I found some worth downloading.
A lot of people are using mp3s to pirate music… but I don’t think it is making a serious dent in the music industry. The bigger threat is the growing number of musicians that are starting to distribute their own music, cutting down the profits of the recording industry. This means that the industry will be trying to crack down on the format as a whole, focusing on the piracy, in order to avoid losing their stranglehold on the market.
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The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
I’m of mixed feelings about this whole affair. As an aspiring yet lazy writer, I dread the day that all media appear in some form on the net. While I do enjoy writing, I would also like to be paid for it, thank you.
It is very rare indeed that I listen to every song on the album-I usually only listen to what’s been pushed down my throat via the radio. I, therefore, am an artist’s worst fear as far as MP3s go: were I to download the files and burn them to disc, I would not, in all likelihood, buy the album. There are other reasons why I don’t get MP3s (mainly a lack of hard and software), but this is one of the main reasons.
I wholeheartedly agree with the aspect of MP3s as an avenue for new/obscure bands to be heard, but it’s a double edged sword. I would think that new bands would be a bit more concerned about MP3s than established artists. Should the band be a one-hit wonder, who’s going to drop cash on the disc when they can download the one song they like for free? Old hats have a bit more cushion when it comes to this problem, as they have a more established fan base.
Then he said, “That is that.”
And then he was gone.
-Dr. Seuss, * The Cat in the Hat*
I think a lot of these problems will go away when the net develops a good micropayment system. I wouldn’t even hesitate in spending a buck or two for a song that I really like. I’d pay a buck or two for a new short story from a writer I liked. If I could download a novel in E-text form for $2-$3, I’d download a lot of them.
This could be a real boon for marginal artists and short story authors. A typical short story might fetch an author a couple hundred dollars (unless it’s going to the New Yorker or something, in which case it’s maybe a thousand). But if an author can put a short story on a web site and collect even 50 cents a copy, then he has a chance to make FAR more money from it.
The same goes for music artists. By breaking the stranglehold the big music companies have on the industry, there’s a good chance to put more money directly into the pockets of the musicians. But the price has to be right. No one is going to pay $5.00 for a single they can download for free. But make it $1, and suddenly just the convenience of going to one big commercial website and finding everything you need makes it worth it.