Metal Reviews

You guys should read this blog article:

http://www.demonbaby.com/blog/2007/10/w ... th-of.html

Sums up everything most of us (probably) have ever thought about the music industry and piracy.

*Applauds* I just wish more people realized this/thought this way.

I really wish the local stores I like would put their inventories online. Even if I couldn't actually purchase from them online, I'd still like to see what they have (of course, there is a potential disadvantage for them in that). As much as I like going in and browsing and buying stuff, none of those stores are that local and I can't get there as often as I'd like. And as much as I want to support them, and will even go a little out of my way to do so at times, it's up to them to stay competitive and bring in more business.

opportunity makes a thief

(it's like you see 50$ on the street will you pick it up? or will you leave it because you want to be fair. It's the same thing with downloading. And even to download takes less effort than to bend down to pick the 50$ up.)

Only if you want to be a thief.

Please, never think as downloading is the same thing is theft.

DOWNLOADING IS NOT STEALING.

When person A steals person B, person B loses property. Amd when I say property I mean PHYSICAL property. Someone steals your wallet, you lose the 10 dollar bill you had in it. Simple.

Downloading con be compared to ANOTHER type of "crime" : Sneaking in, or trespassing. Like when you sneak in a movie theater and watch the movie without paying. When you climb the fence to a concert and see the show without paying the ticket. You're experiencing entertaintment for free when you should have paid for it. It is STILL morally wrong, but it's NOT stealing.

Still thinking that trespassing or sneaking in is the same thing as stealing? Upon the eye of the law, I'm sure it's not.

Take two of your friends, and ask one friend to go to Wall-Mart and try to steal an iPod from the shelf. Of course security cameras will catch him. Then ask other friend to try to sneak in into a Lakers game. The secutiry cameras at the entrance will catch him.

Then just observe if the law treats both your friends in the same way. If they get the same charge as stealing. My guess is that friend two will just be bumped out of the sports arena. And if he stills gos to the police station, I DOUBT he would het the same treatment as someone who tried to steal an iPod right from a store shelf.

DOWNLOADING IS NOT STEALING. The industry INVENTED that comparison and made so many HUGE campaings that some people are absorbing it as truth by simple lobotomy.

Lots of times, downloading is in fact morally wrong, of course I have to admit that. But when the music business forgot about music and became just BUSINESS, they started to come up with every morally wrong decision to make shitloads of money without ever concerning MUSIC itself. So there you, society found a way to fight wrong with wrong. It's ugly, but there is just one thing certain : the old industry CANNOT win and a new, smaller industry will arise.

Wow, great article. Everyone, read it...it's actually got me thinking whether downloading isn't so bad after all.

Yeah, I liked it too and took a long time reading the whole from start to finish. It does make one think and re-evaluate perceptions around music and downloading.

cut the crap

and it proves my point, downloading will evolute the music industry like someone has said that cars have replaced horses... it's the same thing.

"Property" does not just refer to physical position by letter of the law. Music legal belongs to the record labels, and by taking without purchasing, it is legally a form of theft. I know people who download want to find a loophole around it to feel better about what they do, but it still is what it is.

That being said, this is the new bootleg industry, no matter what anyone like Metallica (who once built a career around bootlegging), and it does not harm the financial well-being of artists who are willing to work and tour hard for their fans. it only harms the record labels, and even then, pop artists have still broken various sales records in recent years.

Still, as much as we choose to hate the business for being greedy in its pursuit of a few lost dollars, they are legally in the right.

I personally have nothing against DLing something to sample before buying an album, and I think doing that is good for those bands who need exposure. Still, no matter how we want to angle it, we'll lose in the end because they aren't changing the laws to suit listeners. Sometimes we just have to accept reality. I've already been caught and warned for DLing a movie, and the movie studios aren't half as aggressive as RIAA, so be mindful. None of what's been said in this thread will work as a defense in court.

What? This all depends on your definition of what 'stealing' is.

And for everyone saying 'yeehaw, make way for technology', it's all very well, but larger businesses will naturally get ahead for the wider choice. The little man needs protection - don't forget Metal is the little man here. Just because the supermarket sells cheaper vegetables than the man on the corner with his barrow, doesn't mean that you can steal from the supermarket and then pretend you're helping the little man. Downloading has nothing to do with sneaking into games or shoplifting - and in that case, I hope you don't sneak into a small, local club that desperately needs the finance...

Try sending a letter of that sort to Metallica.....

When you purchase a CD or download a song from iTunes, you have pruchased the right to listen to that song. Whether the money goes directly to the band or the record company, you have paid for it. If you obtain a copy of that song without paying for it, you have "stolen" it as someone has not received the payment for it. Plain and simple - that is stealing.

As a US citizen, if I download a song "illegally", I am subject to prosecution under federal law. It is illegal. If I am caught, which we are starting to see here on college campuses, they will not care that I own three shirts and have ticket stubs for two concerts. If I have the song and do not have a "legally purchased" version of that song (download, tape, vinyl, cd), I am subject to prosecution.

If I do own a physical copy, but they have found that I have uploaded it and others have copied it from me, I am subject to prosecution.

Whether you agree with this or not is not relevant. It is illegal. Do not try and justify it. Federal law - in the US - prevents it.

Plain and simple...

as far as i know, they've only ever prosecuted anyone for the second of these things.

Once again, people do illegal things all the time- most sane people don't bat an eye when 19 year olds in the US have a beer, instead of waiting until they're 21. Illegality does not equal immorality, and should never stop discussion- you're supposed to debate your laws in a democracy, especially ones that are legal in other, similar countries.

Debate on an issue does not mean letting open the floodgates and allowing people to illegally download while the subject is up for debate. The debate is a legal process that must take place before any change occurs in the current standing LAW. As of right now, no matter what irrational justification you would attempt to place on illegally downloading, it is still illegal in this country. The laws are what they are. So, this idea of morality, justification, rationalization is nonsense. the law states that it's illegal.

Plus, IMO, the files that anyone downloads or even legally download from ITunes are absolutely inferior to the quality that's on a CD. However...that's just my opinion. AAC files and MP3 files suck!!

If you live in the US and you download a piece of music illegally, you are subject to prosecution. It's that simple...

Better call the feds.

But what defines downloading as stealing? The fact that you're experiencing art for free when in fact you should have paid for it because someone "owns" the art?

It's not stealing, it's copyright infringement. That's why if you're just downloading files, you're not doing anything "wrong" and they can't charge you for anything. They can only charge you for stuff if you upload files to other people. This is why the whole "it's illegal" argument is BS... because it's legal if you download music off megaupload or rapidshare as long as you don't upload any yourself.