Do recording artists get paid to speak out against MP3s?

[rh71]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71
To add to Fonz' message, my brother is a guitarist in a hardcore band. He has only a parttime job and still lives with mom. Music is his life.

He travels with his band all over the northeast and hardly makes anything from the shows. I can tell you the t-shirts and CDs and studio-time wasn't remotely cheap for them. They need the money they get back from merchandise sales.

On another note, when my coworker found out he plays hardcore music, he asked for a CD. Never did my coworker even consider paying for it, but I wasn't going to ask him for the money either. It wasn't my place. I gave my brother $5 for a CD and never told him it was my money and not my coworker's. Point was that it made him happy... and as much as he loves making music, it's the feeling of appreciation that the musician gets when someone shows them they are deserving of their hard-earned money.

You like it, you pay for it, especially when it's someone's livelihood. I don't care how much or how little they already have.

Gigapet, take that into your scenario. If the artist chooses to make mp3s freely available for the taking so that popularity can grow, that's absolutely fine. My brother has a few mp3s up on mp3.com for the taking. These artists who are speaking out against free sharing don't want it that way. They CHOOSE not to let their intellectual property be tossed about that way. Why then, do you think it's still ok to do so ? For the good of the artist ? For their popularity and future music sales? I think not. It's all about you getting it for free now and that's not right, especially when it was never INTENDED to be so.

then hey those people are sellouts and they dont desreve anyting for misleading the public to believe they are about the music when they are really about the $$$ IF you cant appreciate your fans then you dont deserve anything. Real fans support musicians others arent real fans they never had any intention of buying your cd and probably deleted or dont listen to any of the songs they downloaded of yours.

My God, it is entirely useless reasoning with you. When has any artist ever said "IT IS ABOUT THE MUSIC, NOT THE MONEY" ?! You continue to dance around my questions.

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71
To add to Fonz' message, my brother is a guitarist in a hardcore band. He has only a parttime job and still lives with mom. Music is his life.

He travels with his band all over the northeast and hardly makes anything from the shows. I can tell you the t-shirts and CDs and studio-time wasn't remotely cheap for them. They need the money they get back from merchandise sales.

On another note, when my coworker found out he plays hardcore music, he asked for a CD. Never did my coworker even consider paying for it, but I wasn't going to ask him for the money either. It wasn't my place. I gave my brother $5 for a CD and never told him it was my money and not my coworker's. Point was that it made him happy... and as much as he loves making music, it's the feeling of appreciation that the musician gets when someone shows them they are deserving of their hard-earned money.

You like it, you pay for it, especially when it's someone's livelihood. I don't care how much or how little they already have.

Gigapet, take that into your scenario. If the artist chooses to make mp3s freely available for the taking so that popularity can grow, that's absolutely fine. My brother has a few mp3s up on mp3.com for the taking. These artists who are speaking out against free sharing don't want it that way. They CHOOSE not to let their intellectual property be tossed about that way. Why then, do you think it's still ok to do so ? For the good of the artist ? For their popularity and future music sales? I think not. It's all about you getting it for free now and that's not right, especially when it was never INTENDED to be so.

then hey those people are sellouts and they dont desreve anyting for misleading the public to believe they are about the music when they are really about the $$$ IF you cant appreciate your fans then you dont deserve anything. Real fans support musicians others arent real fans they never had any intention of buying your cd and probably deleted or dont listen to any of the songs they downloaded of yours.

My God, it is entirely useless reasoning with you. When has any artist ever said "IT IS ABOUT THE MUSIC, NOT THE MONEY" ?! You continue to dance around my questions.

Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

 

[ObiDon]

Originally posted by: rh71

My God, it is entirely useless reasoning with you. When has any artist ever said "IT IS ABOUT THE MUSIC, NOT THE MONEY" ?! You continue to dance around my questions.

I'm surprised that you tried as long as you did. I don't know whether I should applaud your patience and hope for reason within the average human being...or kick you in the groin. 😉

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: gigapet
Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

Yeah it's clear that you have never had to work hard for something in your life.

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: gigapet
Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

Yeah it's clear that you have never had to work hard for something in your life.

great what else can u tell me about myself?

trying to take what is supposed to be an art and twisting it into something that is only money driven is a disgrace.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: gigapet
Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

Yeah it's clear that you have never had to work hard for something in your life.

great what else can u tell me about myself?

trying to take what is supposed to be an art and twisting it into something that is only money driven is a disgrace.

Were you born an idiot or have you been working on it a long time? Grow up little boy. When I see you working a full time job for NO $$$ then I will listen to your drivel.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71
To add to Fonz' message, my brother is a guitarist in a hardcore band. He has only a parttime job and still lives with mom. Music is his life.

He travels with his band all over the northeast and hardly makes anything from the shows. I can tell you the t-shirts and CDs and studio-time wasn't remotely cheap for them. They need the money they get back from merchandise sales.

On another note, when my coworker found out he plays hardcore music, he asked for a CD. Never did my coworker even consider paying for it, but I wasn't going to ask him for the money either. It wasn't my place. I gave my brother $5 for a CD and never told him it was my money and not my coworker's. Point was that it made him happy... and as much as he loves making music, it's the feeling of appreciation that the musician gets when someone shows them they are deserving of their hard-earned money.

You like it, you pay for it, especially when it's someone's livelihood. I don't care how much or how little they already have.

Gigapet, take that into your scenario. If the artist chooses to make mp3s freely available for the taking so that popularity can grow, that's absolutely fine. My brother has a few mp3s up on mp3.com for the taking. These artists who are speaking out against free sharing don't want it that way. They CHOOSE not to let their intellectual property be tossed about that way. Why then, do you think it's still ok to do so ? For the good of the artist ? For their popularity and future music sales? I think not. It's all about you getting it for free now and that's not right, especially when it was never INTENDED to be so.

then hey those people are sellouts and they dont desreve anyting for misleading the public to believe they are about the music when they are really about the $$$ IF you cant appreciate your fans then you dont deserve anything. Real fans support musicians others arent real fans they never had any intention of buying your cd and probably deleted or dont listen to any of the songs they downloaded of yours.

My God, it is entirely useless reasoning with you. When has any artist ever said "IT IS ABOUT THE MUSIC, NOT THE MONEY" ?! You continue to dance around my questions.

Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

SO you go to work for the love of it?

If you are getting a paycheck you are just being greedy😉

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71
To add to Fonz' message, my brother is a guitarist in a hardcore band. He has only a parttime job and still lives with mom. Music is his life.

He travels with his band all over the northeast and hardly makes anything from the shows. I can tell you the t-shirts and CDs and studio-time wasn't remotely cheap for them. They need the money they get back from merchandise sales.

On another note, when my coworker found out he plays hardcore music, he asked for a CD. Never did my coworker even consider paying for it, but I wasn't going to ask him for the money either. It wasn't my place. I gave my brother $5 for a CD and never told him it was my money and not my coworker's. Point was that it made him happy... and as much as he loves making music, it's the feeling of appreciation that the musician gets when someone shows them they are deserving of their hard-earned money.

You like it, you pay for it, especially when it's someone's livelihood. I don't care how much or how little they already have.

Gigapet, take that into your scenario. If the artist chooses to make mp3s freely available for the taking so that popularity can grow, that's absolutely fine. My brother has a few mp3s up on mp3.com for the taking. These artists who are speaking out against free sharing don't want it that way. They CHOOSE not to let their intellectual property be tossed about that way. Why then, do you think it's still ok to do so ? For the good of the artist ? For their popularity and future music sales? I think not. It's all about you getting it for free now and that's not right, especially when it was never INTENDED to be so.

then hey those people are sellouts and they dont desreve anyting for misleading the public to believe they are about the music when they are really about the $$$ IF you cant appreciate your fans then you dont deserve anything. Real fans support musicians others arent real fans they never had any intention of buying your cd and probably deleted or dont listen to any of the songs they downloaded of yours.

My God, it is entirely useless reasoning with you. When has any artist ever said "IT IS ABOUT THE MUSIC, NOT THE MONEY" ?! You continue to dance around my questions.

Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

SO you go to work for the love of it?

If you are getting a paycheck you are just being greedy😉

posting on ATOT is hardly an ART.

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: gigapet
Stop being greedy
if you are just in it for the money then you dont desrve sh!t
is that clear enough?

Yeah it's clear that you have never had to work hard for something in your life.

great what else can u tell me about myself?

trying to take what is supposed to be an art and twisting it into something that is only money driven is a disgrace.

Were you born an idiot or have you been working on it a long time? Grow up little boy. When I see you working a full time job for NO $$$ then I will listen to your drivel.

who is getting no money. The only money they are not getting is from the people who were not ever interested in supporting htem anyways cuz they were not real fans.

Full time job for no money..........isnt that an internship.....yup it is and I've done that plenty.

 

[fonzinator]

Originally posted by: gigapet

I agree you should be compensated by your fans somehow. But I'm suggesting that you see a fanatical supporter as an asset because they will be the ones flippin out at your shows creating the energy and atmosphere that will keep paying fans coming back , constantly talking about your music to others etc........ THey dont have the ability to spend money but they doesnt mean they dont support you at all.

If I download your album dont like it and never listen to it why would i pay for it ......thats just silly.

I'll agree with you on the point that a fanatical fan base is extremely important. However, if I gave the impression that "I don't care about money" and everyone can just have my music for free; or if I say, "Just pay for it when you can," I'm tellin ya...I would have most likely starved. There were many times where I would give away cds to extremely poor people that could not afford them. I simply could not do this with everyone. The truth is, I don't care about the money. If that was ever the motivation for my music, I would ask that you all kick me in the groin. However, money is a necessary evil. CDs cost much $$s to make; sending an entire band on tour costs $$$$s. None of this is free. It requires cash to operate. It simply cannot be free. To make it completly free (ie. free cds, free concerts, ect.) would be to sign the death certificate of the band. Thousands of fanatical freeloaders doesn't create 1 cent; only a loud noise. Freeloaders don't perpetuate paying customers. Do you see people on Kazza saying, "Hey! This band's stuff is great. Where can I pay for it?" Extremely doubtful.

You shouldn't have to download my album to see if you like it. That is why we had 3 full songs on our web site for people to sample. If you don't like the sound/message/whatever, then you simply won't buy. However, the hope is, that you will like it, and you will buy. The money made from that cd keeps fuel in the money hungry van, stomachs fed, shelter, ect. that makes a band run. It can never be free no matter how much I would love for it to be.

 

[gigapet]

Freeloaders don't perpetuate paying customers.

like hell they don't. Not everybody has kazaa not everybody has a broadband connection and not everyone has a computer. Sh!t man most people dont even know how to work a computer besides instant messenger and email. Think about that guy that i was talking about b4 who downloads your cd and plays it constantly. Somone will HEAR IT AND LIKE IT and they will goto your show(perhaps with a group of people who decided to take his recommendation about your music) and buy merchandise etc becuz of it. To say this doesnt happen is quite silly....how do you think music gets across such great distances. Word of mouth. Word of mouth is a priceless asset for not so financially stable band.

Think of the fanatical freeloader as a marketing investment
but the freeloader that is in a financial position to support you some way for your music that they love is indeed a scumbag. This is the rarer breed of freeloader.

 

[Staples]

Originally posted by: rh71
Why can't they do it to protect their intellectual property? True you can see it in the way that free sharing can lead to popularity of the particular songs, but some artists would rather get paid for their hard work. I know I would.

What he said.

I can't belive there are still so many people who believe artists openly support the stealing of their music while they might rather prefer the millions they'd get if you bought it. I'd sure prefer the latter if I were a recording artist.

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: Staples

Originally posted by: rh71
Why can't they do it to protect their intellectual property? True you can see it in the way that free sharing can lead to popularity of the particular songs, but some artists would rather get paid for their hard work. I know I would.

What he said.

I can't belive there are still so many people who believe artists openly support the stealing of their music while they might rather prefer the millions they'd get if you bought it. I'd sure prefer the latter if I were a recording artist.

They are failing to recongnize that if they are not getting any financial support from somone who downloads there music that that person was not going to ever buy the album anyways so they really arent losing anything but rather gaining an opportunity to acquire new fans that will support them financially.

 

[fonzinator]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Freeloaders don't perpetuate paying customers.

like hell they don't. Not everybody has kazaa not everybody has a broadband connection and not everyone has a computer. Sh!t man most people dont even know how to work a computer besides instant messenger and email. Think about that guy that i was talking about b4 who downloads your cd and plays it constantly. Somone will HEAR IT AND LIKE IT and they will goto your show(perhaps with a group of people who decided to take his recommendation about your music) and buy merchandise etc becuz of it. To say this doesnt happen is quite silly....how do you think music gets across such great distances. Word of mouth. Word of mouth is a priceless asset for not so financially stable band.

Think of the fanatical freeloader as a marketing investment
but the freeloader that is in a financial position to support you some way for your music that they love is indeed a scumbag. This is the rarer breed of freeloader.

During our concerts I would always plug our cds. I'd usually say something like, "As you can imagine, driving 14,000 miles around the country for 2.5 months costs money. Please support us, our music, and our message by buying a cd. They'll be for sale for $12 in the back after the show." Now suppose I said, "Hey...I know you're all broke college students. If you can afford a cd, please buy one. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find our music on Kazaa and just download it there." People will then ask themselves, "Do I want to PAY, or get something for free??" Most will likely choose free. The number of paying customers will not be enough to support us long enough before the fan base grows large enough. In other words, we'd probably die out financially before all those freeloaders had any chance of perpetuating any paying customers. Furthermore, the demographic we appealed to was college age students. We all know college people are broke. If I gave them the option of just having our music for free, most would take me up on it. Even had I never pressed a single cd, the studio time to make that cd is costly.

I have no statistics to back me up, but I'd wager that most Kazza users are financially capeable of buying the music they steal. However, it is simply more convenient, easy, and free, to steal it. I would think this is the route most would choose. I'd love to see an independent band prove me wrong, but I'd predict it not happening.

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: fonzinator

Originally posted by: gigapet

Freeloaders don't perpetuate paying customers.

like hell they don't. Not everybody has kazaa not everybody has a broadband connection and not everyone has a computer. Sh!t man most people dont even know how to work a computer besides instant messenger and email. Think about that guy that i was talking about b4 who downloads your cd and plays it constantly. Somone will HEAR IT AND LIKE IT and they will goto your show(perhaps with a group of people who decided to take his recommendation about your music) and buy merchandise etc becuz of it. To say this doesnt happen is quite silly....how do you think music gets across such great distances. Word of mouth. Word of mouth is a priceless asset for not so financially stable band.

Think of the fanatical freeloader as a marketing investment
but the freeloader that is in a financial position to support you some way for your music that they love is indeed a scumbag. This is the rarer breed of freeloader.

During our concerts I would always plug our cds. I'd usually say something like, "As you can imagine, driving 14,000 miles around the country for 2.5 months costs money. Please support us, our music, and our message by buying a cd. They'll be for sale for $12 in the back after the show." Now suppose I said, "Hey...I know you're all broke college students. If you can afford a cd, please buy one. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find our music on Kazaa and just download it there." People will then ask themselves, "Do I want to PAY, or get something for free??" Most will likely choose free. The number of paying customers will not be enough to support us long enough before the fan base grows large enough. In other words, we'd probably die out financially before all those freeloaders had any chance of perpetuating any paying customers. Furthermore, the demographic we appealed to was college age students. We all know college people are broke. If I gave them the option of just having our music for free, most would take me up on it. Even had I never pressed a single cd, the studio time to make that cd is costly.

I have no statistics to back me up, but I'd wager that most Kazza users are financially capeable of buying the music they steal. However, it is simply more convenient, easy, and free, to steal it. I would think this is the route most would choose. I'd love to see an independent band prove me wrong, but I'd predict it not happening.

I'm not saying that it would be wise to promote your music for free obviously getting paid is better than not especially when you have expenses you have mentioned. Maybe I am just going to far by thinking most people are like me.......if they really like the music the will buy the cd or pay to see a show or buy a shirt etc.

 

[rh71]

Gigapet, what do you do for a living ?

I promise this will lead somewhere. But let's start off small...

 

[fonzinator]

Originally posted by: gigapetI'm not saying that it would be wise to promote your music for free obviously getting paid is better than not especially when you have expenses you have mentioned. Maybe I am just going to far by thinking most people are like me.......if they really like the music the will buy the cd or pay to see a show or buy a shirt etc.

I wish that more people were like you man! I'd love to have everyone who could honestly pay for my music buy it, and those who cannot can just have it. If there were enough paying customers to support me, then I wouldn't care too much if those who couldn't afford it got it for free. But therein lies the problem. Most are willing to pay for their lunch, but no one wants to pay for their own lunch AND for another's lunch. I think that's the biggest draw for people to steal music. It's not that they can't afford it, rather it's the "If they can get it for free, then I should be able to also" mentality that produces so much piracy today.

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: rh71
Gigapet, what do you do for a living ?

I promise this will lead somewhere. But let's start off small...

i work in an IT department for a fortune 500 company. internal and external webdev mostly.

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: Staples
What he said.

I can't belive there are still so many people who believe artists openly support the stealing of their music while they might rather prefer the millions they'd get if you bought it. I'd sure prefer the latter if I were a recording artist.

They are failing to recongnize that if they are not getting any financial support from somone who downloads there music that that person was not going to ever buy the album anyways so they really arent losing anything but rather gaining an opportunity to acquire new fans that will support them financially.

That's some speculation there. Granted, some people get tracks just because they like a given single and would not buy the full album anyway. But many people get albums and burn them to CD because hell, its free. To say that they wouldn't have bought it anyway (if there wasn't such an avenue) is ignorant.

 

[phantom309]

You guys are missing the point.

This has nothing to do with the RIAA, or the price of CD's, or greedy record labels or whether an artist has talent or not.

Some say that MP3 file-sharing has actually improved record sales. That doesn't matter either.

Under current U.S. law it is illegal to download copyrighted music without paying for it. There is nothing ambiguous about it, no matter how many people want to believe otherwise. The fact that it's easy, and millions of people are doing it does not change the law.

It is perfectly within the RIAA's rights to prosecute anyone who is knowingly distributing copyrighted material without compensating the people who created it. Even if you don't like it. Even if 10 million people don't like it. Even if Britney Spears sucks and big labels suck and music sucks today anyway so you think you shouldn't have to pay.

 

[fonzinator]

Originally posted by: phantom309
You guys are missing the point.

This has nothing to do with the RIAA, or the price of CD's, or greedy record labels or whether an artist has talent or not.

Some say that MP3 file-sharing has actually improved record sales. That doesn't matter either.

Under current U.S. law it is illegal to download copyrighted music without paying for it. There is nothing ambiguous about it, no matter how many people want to believe otherwise. The fact that millions of people are doing it doesn't change the law.

I whole-heartedly agree. It's all about integrity...what you choose to do when no one is watching; the measure of a man lies here.

 

[AznMaverick]

in my feeble attempt to retaliate at the RIAA, i will go from d/ling mp3s to buying cheap arse used cds.