Illegal Song Downloading.

There are so many Youtube MP3 rippers. You pretty much type 'convert youtube to mp3' and you've got 80 hits.

If they're smaller bands, I'll totally buy their stuff. Only straight from them physically or from their personal site, though. It really sucks ass how badly iTunes rips off artists. I'll buy physical copies of CDs also if it's a band I really love. I've bought physical copies of all of Black Veil Brides' albums. I'm working on getting Bring Me the Horizon's discography as well.

The only time I illegally download stuff is when I'm impatient about a song and don't have the money, but I usually go back and buy it when I have money.

Here's a moral dilemma for ya.

Fall Out Boy leaked their album a week or so before it released. You couldn't go buy it. So even if I wanted to, not possible. However, it was totally possible for me to rip the audio from the YouTube playlist to put on my iPod. Was I morally wrong in that situation, if illegally downloading is considered morally wrong in the equation?

@ dru's troubled soul
I don't think so in that situation. After all, if Fall Out Boy leaked the album themselves then that does heavily imply they don't have an issue with people getting their music for free as they knew no one would be able to spend money on the leaked songs. However, if they hadn't leaked the album themselves and had said it was some kind of accident and that they would really like people to buy the album after the official release date, I think that would be wrong.

Essentially, if the artist is fine with their songs being downloaded illegally, I'm fine with it. There are also things such as 'B-sides' or like songs that were never actually recorded for an album etc. but were performed and recorded by a fan and I think in those situations it's also okay to download those illegally as there is no way to get them otherwise. Also since the artist never intended to release unrecorded performed songs, there is no money lost for them.

Illegally downloading songs when the album by an artist/band that has broken up/quit making music and somehow some of their albums/songs are no longer available for purchase. That's what I usually do. And any demo's/old records/special releases that Itunes or any other music purchasing website doesn't have.

Illegally downloading songs is better than what you usually do. Sometimes when I just want to plainly support a band, I'll buy an album off iTunes. But, when you purchase songs or albums on iTunes, only a tiiiiiny bit goes to the artist and the rest goes to Apple. So, if you actually want to give an artist money out of your pocket to show them gratitude, I suggest buying music from fairer sites, like the artist's OWN website... Not iTunes, Merch Now, Best Buy, Target, or anywhere else. Concerts are also awesome because you get to have a kickass time and you can buy a physical copy of the album plus lots of merch!!!

Yeah, I download songs too. The times I purchase music is very few and far between, but I'm just saying that if someone begins to feel guilty about it that buying from iTunes doesn't monetarily support the artist. I don't feel guilty.

I don't agree with illegal downloading. Because that artist has worked months on that whole album, and then all their work goes to waste because you're illegally downloaded it. I just listen to it on Youtube or download it from iTunes. What I hate even more are those shops that burn the music onto a cd and don't even bother to make it look real. Then all the profits go to them. It's kind of sad, if you think about it.

I've downloaded music illegally, though it's usually just Japanese or Korean artists who are hard to get in the U.S. For example, I've bought every album SCANDAL has released from iTunes. But the thing is, iTunes doesn't sell their maxi singles. In order to legally get those, I would need to order them from overseas, which could cost up to $60, and that's from the cheapest (and most reliable) website out there. I cannot afford that, most can't. It's almost impossible to get the maxi singles in the U.S because of how outrageous overseas shipping is. I've downloaded Silent Siren songs because they're not popular enough to be on the U.S iTunes. They're on the Japanese iTunes, but I can't buy from there. So some songs are simply impossible to get in the U.S without spending an outrageous fortune on them.

I guess I have mixed feelings on it. I understand how it can hurt the artists, but it's also frustrating to not be able to have access to certain songs because the band resides on the other side of the world. I refuse to spend around $60 for one or two songs, no matter how much I like the band. Downloading is sometimes the only option.

I'm not proud of it, but I do it. There really isn't a justification that will satisfy or placate everyone because, though the law clearly states that ripping/downloading music without permission is wrong, some people differ morally on the issue. For example, I don't like a blatant, profit-led capitalism of any product because it's wholly unfair. But I accept that it exists, and I have to deal with it.

My own justification is that, because every song I download I hold dear, that when I find myself in a position where I have a regular income and 99p doesn't seem like such an enormous amount to me anymore (that's like, enough money to make a meal to me...), I'm going to purchase every single one of them. Because I love hard copies and like being able to stick them in my DVD player or laptop and play them out loud. It's my ultimate goal to buy them, but for now, the only thing that will get me those songs to listen to on a regular basis without having to be connected to the internet all of the time, is illegal downloading.

I don't enjoy it and like I said, I'm not proud of it. But I do it.

iTunes takes 30%, 70% goes to the artist. If I wanted to support an artist I enjoyed, I would rather get a physical copy. Some albums I buy, but I do download illegally as well and I'm not going to justify my wrongdoing.

In general, the worth of music seems to have declined a lot since recording and duplication has become cheap and accessible for everyone.

lozzieee busted!:

My own justification is that, because every song I download I hold dear, that when I find myself in a position where I have a regular income and 99p doesn't seem like such an enormous amount to me anymore (that's like, enough money to make a meal to me...), I'm going to purchase every single one of them.

I often wonder what the statistics are on this; I think most people who download music illegally download a lot of music they're only sort of interested in but may become very passionate about – if someone were to download music from fifty bands, for example, how many (on average) would they wind up becoming a loyal (money-spending) fan of? Basically I wonder how much money illegal downloading generates for bands, though I imagine it'd be difficult/impossible to assess that. But just from personal experience, I think a lot of people do wind up spending a lot of money on bands they got into through illegal downloads. My favorite band actually encourages fans to share their music illegally because that's how they built their fanbase in the first place.

I think, genuinely, when it comes to this issue there are so many bigger issues that it shouldn't be such a worry for people. I mean, if they could actually show that those affected by the illegal downloading were losing so much money that they had to walk away from their homes and they couldn't - for example - take their child to the doctor's then yeah. But at this point those who complain that this is affecting them so massively are still living in huge houses and can still live in riches and then it just seems like such a petty thing to complain about. There are bigger issues to worry about.

Here's a video of a guy from a small band buying his own CD because according to himself his band needs the money.

He says, "Help the band or we'll disappear." I can imagine from his standpoint that it's really hard to know that people are taking his music for free when he (probably) worked hard to make it and wants to tour.

I download music illegally, but the music I download is from big, popular bands who I know are doing pretty well. Smaller bands, I would buy their stuff.

I know all bands should be treated equally, i.e. if I download one band's music illegally I should do the same for the other, but I just feel for the smaller bands because they haven't made it big yet.

@ Fentoozler

Fentoozler:

I don't know if they're actually going to do this or if they have yet or if it's still in the works. But they're apparently adding another 5 dollars to everyone's Internet bills, specifically for downloading songs and then giving all those 5 dollars to the music guild. Which in the end, makes downloading songs legal.

I download but I have Limewire Pro. So, I guess I technically paid for it? But I don't download whole albums. I prefer having the CD.

Where did you get your information from?

Isn't it ok to download mp3 music? My friend downloads her music from a Russian website, and she says it's not illegal to download it there. I download music illegally, and many people do that now adays.

I don't illegally download songs, but I think it's dumb when you want one song, and you have to buy the whole album.

@ lozzieee busted!

becalmandcarryon:

I don't agree with illegal downloading. Because that artist has worked months on that whole album, and then all their work goes to waste because you're illegally downloaded it. I just listen to it on Youtube or download it from iTunes. What I hate even more are those shops that burn the music onto a cd and don't even bother to make it look real. Then all the profits go to them. It's kind of sad, if you think about it.

I agree, but in the first place should they have made it cost THAT much money? (Unless someone is illegally downloading it and it's really cheap)

I don't really like it when people do it, unless someone has a reason for it.

If CD quality hadn't disintegrated about 200% since the 90s, I'd be happy to buy physical copies. I'm just not about to spend money on a CD with a case that cracks opening it and that won't survive a year.

At the moment I'm stripping audio from YouTube videos. I have no way to put music on my iPod and I have this shitty little mp3 player. We don't have iTunes on this computer.

treat02:

I don't really like it when people do it, unless someone has a reason for it.

What do you mean by "a reason" though? I'm sure everyone who illegally downloads music has a motivation to do so one way or another (such as not having enough money, not wanting to buy an entire album on i-tunes, i-tunes doesn't have the song you want to begin with, just not wanting to pay, period, ect).