What do you think about MP3 downloading?

I download stuff on MP3 all the time, to discover new and good music. If songs from a specfic album start getting onto my "Top 100 Most Played" or I find I'm generally listening to them a lot I usually buy the CD and rip it to replace my downloaded MP3's.

I see downloading music as a quality filter, and a way to "try before you buy".
 
I download a lot :oops:

At the moment I have over 100 albums on MP3, and my collection is growing.

Only reason I download is because I'm a poor student. I can hardly afford decent food, so CD's aren't top priority at the moment. If I could afford to buy albums I would. I like real CD's much better! But I NEED music so I download for the time being :)

Having said that, I never download Maiden (unless it's rare tracks) :D If there's a new Maiden CD/single/EP I would rather starve to save money then buy the CD LOL
 
I don't download anything except authorized tracks -- e.g., sample songs provided freely on band's homepages. But that's not an ethical decision; it's only because my employer owns my computer and therefore I can't install file-sharing software.

I think file-sharing does not necessarily equal stealing. People loan each other CDs and such all the time, and back in the day we used to copy each other's stuff via memorex rather than mp3s. The industry bitched that that was piracy too, but they never went after it so aggressively.

I think it would be proper to think of file-sharing as sort of a big library where people can check stuff out, experience it, and see if they like it. If I want an album I'm going to buy it. Even with the free files I download, I do it for things I have been curious to hear but not curious enough to spend $18 on a new CD. Therefore I ain't costing anyone any money, and in fact I'm creating new, future purchasing opportunities, becaues if I like something enough I'll buy more of it later.

I am one long-winded mofo.

My favorite comment on this phenomenon is the anti-piracy "warning" text that Ani Difranco puts on her own albums. Instead of the usual "unauthorized copying is prohibited," she says "unauthorized duplication, while sometimes necessary, as never as good as the real thing."
 
i download a lot of music to see if certain album or band is good and worth buying and after i download it and listen it i don't want to buy it anymore no matter what i tought of it. why buy it when i can hear it for free :?

but i do buy a cd from time to time
 
Another thing I'd like to add is the distinction between "downloading" and mp3.

I buy CD's then turn them into MP3's. I have to , because I have an iPod, and thats how I choose to listen to my music. According to the law, thats probably stealing, but in my eyes its fair use, so blah. Downloading music is a different issue, and doesnt really have much to do with MP3, apart from the fact that MP3 makes it nice and easy to download the music in smaller pieces than raw 600mb wave files.

I have a 2700-2800 strong MP3 collection, and thats my preferred way to listen to music now. Even if I buy a CD, its only to rip. CD players are inconvenient. (or maybe I'm just really lazy now.. :) )
 
Manowar said:
they damage easily, which can be annoying
Click to expand...

i've heard people talking about the 40 gig one, but i'd probably be fine with the 5 gig one...that's still a lot of songs...
 
I would like to add that I'm downloading mp3s just to "find" new bands, meaning that it's better to download a mp3 of and listen it and if you like it I'll buy the record... Unlike my friends who just download music and doesn't respect the artists...
 
Do you ever get the feeling that, if they had the means, the RIAA would charge us just for remembering songs that we haven't paid for?
 
If they could design the technology they would simply purge our brains of all copyrighted material, then lease it back to us on a subscription basis.
 
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