Badmovies.org Forum

While I belive that artist who produce material should be able to receive royalties from sales of their music, I' m completely guilty of illegal downloading. However I do have my reasons. I live in Cape Breton and there's no music store chains anymore (not that big a deal. they sucked anyway). I'm also p**s poor which is another reason. The last reason is that a lot of the music I listen to is usually rare and hard to find, so downloading gives me an easy option for obtaining my music. If I could afford to replace my cdrs with original copies, and if the music I'm looking for suddenly became more accesable, I'd gladly do so in a heartbeat.

So what do you all think of illegal downloading?

Oh course this is a topic that can be debated until the end of time with valid/and moronic arguments on both sides. The audio cassette did not destroy the industry the way the companies said it would in the '70s-80s, so I think they will have to adapt the best they can because like it or not downloading is not going away anytime soon. I too have downloaded some obscure stuff not for the sheer glee of doing it, but because it is either simply not available/OOP/or too costly on the after market. Whenever possible I try to buy music or films directly from the artist at either shows, or from their own websites so I know the money is going straight into their hands, and not padding the bottom line of some faceless exec, or stock holder.

Most of the people who post here are probably by nature collectors of some sort, and would prefer to have the physical object in their hands, or on display. Collectors tend to nurture their hobbies over a long period of time meaning they will continue to buy the things they like regardless of what format they come in. For example I loved laserdiscs simply because it was like having an LP of a movie with the larger artwork.

So to me downloading is a double edge sword, when used properly it can be a great promotional tool for artists to get a wider audience. On the other hand I fear we are creating a generation of kids who view music and movies are disposable entertainment with no respect for the amount of effort that is put into them. It is being treated as an accessory for whatever flavor of the moment device they have put them on. Quality is being sacrificed for the amount of storage. As such the physical album is quickly disappearing to the point that the very concept of a "collection" of songs is becoming outmoded with the ease of single track downloading.

I'm fine with downloading obscure/OOP stuff, but downloading popular music that you could find at WalMart is bulls**t.

I'm pretty ambivalent about it.  I download my music from Amazon and pay for it, but I'm sure my kids probably have a terabyte of illegally downloaded stuff.  I understand the musicians need to make money, but so do I and nobody seems to give a flying' f*** about that, so I guess we're all in the same boat. 

It's a tough one, and there are so many arguments on both sides it'll not likely get solved soon. I've downloaded stuff, but never kept it without buying it. One thing that really bugs me is that the music industry wants to make it impossible/illegal for you to  to make an honest backup of what you rightfully paid for. Face it: CDs (and dvds) are delicate, and the music industry is NOT interested in coming up with a more sturdy media, they've already passed up other ideas. What they want is for you to buy a CD (or DVD), for that CD to not be able to take ANY abuse/misuse/accidents, and when it does, you have to buy it all over again. That sucks. People say it's legal to make a backup, , and that's just wrong, especially when it comes to movies, because DVDs are encoded, and it is illegal to defeat that protection method, or at least that's how I understand it.

Of course we get into all kinds of other justifications, and they do get tough to argue for and against. I mean, look at what people in the music industry get away with: Vince Niel Killed a person and seriously injured two others, one of them permanently handicapped. He was double-drunk, and did a whopping 15 days in jail. Some people think along the lines that he owes society more, therefor steal his music. Not saying I agree with it, but it's a way some are thinking.

 :bouncegiggle: Awesome! I hear that!

I never, ever, ever download music from music sharing programs...




...cause Frostwire doesn't seem to have any of the good stuff from my era.

Found some of the classic Cosby comedy routines from when I was a kid. But there's a bunch of stuff that nobody seems to have uploaded, like "The Year 2525".

What's that you say? What do you mean, "crap"? Why, I oughtta...

I don't think it should be illegal at all.  Bands should make their money by playing live, and the music should be free to download or record.  If you want the CD with all the packaging, then you can pay for it.  There would be more real artists with soul who care about the music to listen to, and fewer Michael Jacksons and Britney Spears spewing out their crap.  How much do you think those whiners Metallica make when they do a live show?  Way more than they are worth, and way more than enough to live on I bet.

I used to. But it was only to get mp3's of stuff that I already owned on vinyl. I don't care how rich some of the bands are I like, I want them to make money and keep putting out material. For example, my favourite band W.A.S.P. have seen there sales drop for each sucessive album since about '99. They have a new album out next month and I've already pre-ordered it. I could easily download it, but I'm not ripping off my idols just to save £10. Sure, the record companies take a fat cut, but that's the machine and the way it's been for decades. Money = product, product = money.


Alot of bands need album sales to do well to even get out on a tour, an know that they'll make a decent buck. On the flipside, there's many bands that stay out on the road to make enough just to get back in the studio to whip out a new record, which they want to do (e.g. Overkill).

That sums up my feelings on the subject. If I go browsing on Limewire, it's usually for something specific. For example, an older song that is either not readily available in stores, or is only found in compilations full of songs I already own several legit copies of. And I'm still well aware that somebody owns it. I can usually rationalize it by saying it's an old song that has made its money, and nobody considers it worth publishing today. Given the choice, I'd much rather buy the CD, even if I just want to rip the tracks. There's more control over the quality.

Same with downloading movies. Only after I've looked at the options for renting and buying will I go looking for torrents. A good candidate might be the MST3K episodes that haven't made it to home video, or the original, unbutchered WKRP in Cincinnati.

But downloading the latest albums and movies so you don't have to pay for something. I don't agree with that. People are entitled to get paid for what they produce.

I don't download music illegally-because I'm to afraid of being one of those guys the music companies come after.  Incurring a fine in the thousands just isn;t worth it for a song.

I don't personally do it but you can see how hypocritical the whole situation is.  For example, in the 80s metal bands traded cassettes (one of them Metallica) feverishly for free so they could be heard.  However, once the big bucks and the contracts arrive the dollars need to come out.  Of course all these fines and BS are more the record compaines than the actual artist often.  The record industry has been screwing artists for years so if you believe in karma, what goes around comes around.

Artists (and yes, the distributors) work hard to produce music to entertain us and enrich our lives.  They have special skills which most of us don't have. They have a right to be paid for their work just like anyone else.

We, on the other hand, have no right to free entertainment.  A starving man could make an argument for stealing a loaf of bread, but that's not the case with a song.

Other than the gray market out-of-print stuff, which is indeed fuzzy, it's not possible to make any ethical argument in favor of illegally downloading music. 

I have head many self-serving rationalizations over the years, though. 

I have been into underground music for awhile now. Bands that play in Basements,Living Rooms in houses, community centers etc. People that travel around in a s**tty van and play most of time from there heart. People that when you buy a T-Shirt, CD, Patch whatever it goes a very long way. Like getting gas or food. People that a band member is most likely doing the Merch table and is a real person as for the rest of the band. Some you can talk to and have a beer with.

Those bands I won't download from.


Besides you probably can't even find those bands to download for free anyway.  :tongueout:

As for me, I tend to gravitate towards older music, like older films… where the creators are long gone, but the studios still want to get fatter from it. And that makes me sick.
I think it’s just one part of a bigger problem. I can’t even share a movie with friends online, because when I want to share it, it incidentally makes a copy of it. Whereas you can take a movie or album to a friends house and enjoy it together without anyone looking at you twice.
I’m gonna say yes it’s immoral to download music without paying for it. It’s stealing, it hurts someone in most cases.
And now I’m going to go download some Gogol Bordello because I’m a hypocrite and a bad person.

I do illegally download music.. but try to keep it to a minimum. If I respect the band, I'll buy their music. I have a few shelves that are filled with CD's. I just can't bring myself to buy a song called "I Get Money" though. If 50 Cent gets so much money, he doesn't need mine. My friends pirate tons of music, and I'm not going to stop them, but I like to buy most of my music. Also, my local Goodwill has tons of great music for 2$ a cd..

Yeah, 'cause 50 cent doesn't even make "music".  :bouncegiggle:

Back when Napster was in its heyday, I downloaded hundreds of songs.
I do occasionally download a song or two from Limewire, but it doesn't happen very often.  I download maybe 4-5 songs in an entire year, (if that) usually when I'm making a compilation CD and I only need one song to complete it.

What really bothers me is people who download new movies.

I have a friend who hasn't been to the theater in years because he "steals" and downloads the movie torrents, sometimes while the movie is still in theaters!
Just the other day I asked him if he wanted to go see Inglorious Basterds and he refused, saying that he just downloaded it the other day and was planning to watch it at home.
I went and saw it and loved it.

I've called him a "movie thief" numerous times and he simply doesn't care.
I couldn't imagine downloading a movie that was still in theaters and watching it at home.
That would feel very wrong to me.