IDM Mailing Archive

John Reading said:

quoted 10 lines I agree 100%, it's that tricky ethics part, where people don't feel

> I agree 100%, it's that tricky ethics part, where people don't feel > they should pay for those albums that they like. Most records stores > will offer a turntable to listen first. Most label sites have samples. > It's should be this way. I'd never suggest that people should buy > first, listen later. The problem is still with people believing "It's > my right to download whatever I want and not support anything." > > I still find it ironic that people are willing to pay for interent > access (to giant multi-nationals) to download free albums, but not > support the artist directly. ???

Well, you know, no one ever said people are smart. :) "I hate nike and levi, even though I wear their shoes and jeans!" "McDonalds are evil, but their fries are so good!" I think it'd be bad judgement, though, to assume that the only use for MP3's is based on the relatively few people who download entire albums that they like and never purchase the album, stating that "music should be free!" Personally, I'd imagine that a far more important goal for record labels would be to emphasize MP3 as a way to listen before you buy, instead of fighting it as if it were an alternative to the album. The big record labels say "People download albums so they don't buy them," and people hear that and say "hey, cool." If they were instead to say "Download some tracks from an album to see if you like it, then if you do, come pick it up!" Of course, that mentality would work far better for indie labels, where albums tend to be consistently good compared to having a few hits and the rest utter crap that got dumped on the album to fill it out. I also agree with you that stores and labels should offer some way to sample the work, and mp3's where the track is cut off after 2 minutes, or halfway through, would be a workable alternative as well. At least, I'd imagine so. For some, it'd be motivation to simply find the full track, but they're also the same people who would be dubbing CDs at home and trading via the mail if they didn't have access to MP3's online. I mean, I've even made a copy of a CD I owned and gave it to someone to listen to, and keep if they liked, throw away or give back to me if they don't, but most people who have a problem with MP3 sharing don't seem to really have a problem with that. If I were to rip the tracks to MP3 and email them to a friend, that'd be about the same, as they'd likely delete them if they didn't enjoy them, and either continue listening to the MP3's or buy the album, if they could find it. But I certainly don't trade and rip just to have something to thumb my nose at the people creating stuff I like. So, I don't know. I personally think that labels and artists have a lot more to gain by educating the consumer to support artists AND download MP3's as samples instead of yelling "Theif!" and losing a possible sale. derek -- eggytoast.com - eggtastic.com ------ catchy signature coming soon --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org