RIAA blames downloaders for bad sales, beg to differ

[Red Dawn]

Good Article on the subject

 

[royaldank]

Anyone that believes filesharing hasn't hurt the record industry is fooling themselves. It can be debated how much it's hurt the industry, but the fact remains that it has hurt the industry. However, this is how a free market settles things. If people wont buy something, lower the price. Not sure how long it will take them to figure it out. No one bought VHS tapes when they were $100. Now, DVDs are $20 and people have huge collections. They have movies they will never watch again just because it was cheap. I think the consumer is much more willing to pay $20 for a $100,000,000 movie rather than $15 for a CD that took $30,000 to produce.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Good Article on the subject

Too bad articles like this get lost in all the crap spammed to the media by the RIAA. Then again in many cases the news media outlets either own or are part of conglmerates that are also members of the RIAA so I doubt there will ever be any balanced coverage of all sides of this issue in the mainstream media.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Yeah, I don't buy many CDs anymore. Why pay $20 for a CD when I can buy a DVD movie for $8-12?

the place selling CDs for $20 is selling dvds for $30

 

[Red Dawn]

I rermember being able to buy 2 song 45 RPM records for a buck when I was young. Then if I liked those songs well enough I wopuld spring for the whole album. If you think about it, the Record Companies really cleaned up on popular Artists that way by selling the kids the music twice.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: Rob9874
Ah, another Queensryche fan. Good man. Queensryche held themselves to a higher standard of music. It's too bad kids today just pass them off as a "hair band" like Bon Jovi or Poison. I think the younger generation is quick to make fun of the past, while they listen to their Jason Mraz CD. I can't wait for the 10-12 year olds of today bash the crap people are listening to in 2003. Behind the Music and Where Are They Now will be great in 2008. I'll be watching and laughing.

"<Insert band here> were at the top of their game in 2003. But by 2005, people realized that their music was no good, and the band never recovered. Next on Behind the Music."

Yep, and vice versa for the older generation. Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

It's rare for an older gentleman to like music from younger generations. My grandfather thinks each and every single band you listed is complete garbage. Jazz and big band is what he listens to, while claiming that Van Halen is nothing but noise - and I tend to agree.

Some people learn to appreciate music for what is rather than rag on music they don't understand or like.

Nothing I find funnier than people trying to use the high prices of music as justification for stealing it off p2p apps or newsgroups.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
I rermember being able to buy 2 song 45 RPM records for a buck when I was young. Then if I liked those songs well enough I wopuld spring for the whole album. If you think about it, the Record Companies really cleaned up on popular Artists that way by selling the kids the music twice.

The record companies loved 45's. They were bought, swapped, and taped endlessly by teenagers all to the benefit of the recording industry. They were the engine that drove the 33&1/3 album sales.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: royaldank
Anyone that believes filesharing hasn't hurt the record industry is fooling themselves. It can be debated how much it's hurt the industry, but the fact remains that it has hurt the industry. However, this is how a free market settles things. If people wont buy something, lower the price. Not sure how long it will take them to figure it out. No one bought VHS tapes when they were $100. Now, DVDs are $20 and people have huge collections. They have movies they will never watch again just because it was cheap. I think the consumer is much more willing to pay $20 for a $100,000,000 movie rather than $15 for a CD that took $30,000 to produce.

Movies have months in the box office gaining revenue before making it to DVD. Most bands don't have the luxury of touring the U.S. before or after the release of their album to earn a living. CD sales are their only source of revenue.

edit: typo

 

[Tab]

Yes, you cant say all the music is bad. Even if it is, it gives you no right to steal it.

So what does the RIAA do? Blame their customers. Not only that, they blackmail them with outrageous lawsuits and an army of lawyers. They hit some blue collar family with a multi-billion dollar lawsuit for downloading 1,000 or so songs. The family is supposed to be relieved when the RIAA offers to settle at $10,000. That's $100 a song or at today's $20 CD rates the cost of 5 CDs per downloaded song!

Downloads are atleast part of the lost of thier profits. I suppose you've got a link for families that have settled at $10,000? Has anyone sucessfully been sued 150k a song?

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Nothing I find funnier than people trying to use the high prices of music as justification for stealing it off p2p apps or newsgroups.

You have a wierd sense of humor.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Nothing I find funnier than people trying to use the high prices of music as justification for stealing it off p2p apps or newsgroups.

You have a wierd sense of humor.

Ok, maybe I find some things funnier.

 

[Rob9874]

Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

Yeah, I thought about that. I wonder if I'm just getting old, and am now the 29 year old that used to tell me Queensryche sucked 10 years ago. But as a musician, I think I see music differently than the casual fan. I'm not saying another person isn't allowed to appreciate music I don't consider good. Everyone has different tastes. If someone wants to listen to an entire CD of white noise, more power to him. But I can recognize good songwriting in jazz, big band, The Beatles, and Van Halen. I just don't see it in Limp Bizkit and Good Charlotte. (Chris Rock: "Good Charlotte? More like Mediocre Green Day.") Maybe each generation feels a need to embrace new music when they're 16-21, and bash music that came before and after. But I honestly don't think it's just because I've gotten older. Because I do appreciate some new stuff. I just think the good stuff that's coming out today is much more scarce than it was just 10 years ago.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Nothing I find funnier than people trying to use the high prices of music as justification for stealing it off p2p apps or newsgroups.

You have a wierd sense of humor.

Ok, maybe I find some things funnier.

Actually I am kind of enjoying this debacle between the RIAA and their consumers. The RIAA is whining about loss revenue yet all they really seem to accomplish is to drag their PR through the mud by pissing off their customers. Kind of like a lesson of what not to do as far as PR is concerned. A lesson to be learned by execs in other Industries.

They can sue and hack all they want, the battle they are fighting is already lossed.

 

[0roo0roo]

Yep, and vice versa for the older generation. Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

It's rare for an older gentleman to like music from younger generations. My grandfather thinks each and every single band you listed is complete garbage. Jazz and big band is what he listens to, while claiming that Van Halen is nothing but noise - and I tend to agree.

Some people learn to appreciate music for what is rather than rag on music they don't understand or like.

yup, its plain nostolgia that clouds some peoples eyes. the amount of cr@ppy music released in the past is probably about the same as it is now. its just that over time, cr@ppy music gets forgotten. obiviously also from what i remember the average tracks per album have also gone up.

the arguement that music sucks because it doesn't fit your taste isn't a very good one.

If they made cd's cheaper i would buy them again, as of now I download instead of buy......

so are you entitled to steal others work?

excuses are running out, online pay services are up and more are coming. course, its hard to compete with free.

why do you think stores have all those anti theft tags now.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Yep, and vice versa for the older generation. Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

It's rare for an older gentleman to like music from younger generations. My grandfather thinks each and every single band you listed is complete garbage. Jazz and big band is what he listens to, while claiming that Van Halen is nothing but noise - and I tend to agree.

Some people learn to appreciate music for what is rather than rag on music they don't understand or like.

yup, its plain nostolgia that clouds some peoples eyes. the amount of cr@ppy music released in the past is probably about the same as it is now. its just that over time, cr@ppy music gets forgotten. obiviously also from what i remember the average tracks per album have also gone up.

the arguement that music sucks because it doesn't fit your taste isn't a very good one.

If they made cd's cheaper i would buy them again, as of now I download instead of buy......

so are you entitled to steal others work?

Only if you can get away with it

 

[Regs]

No, the music just sucks. Many from all generations can agree. Except for the 14 year old girls buying nsync albums.

 

[Turin39789]

let me say fsck not being able to backup, my cd wallet was stolen out of my car 2 days ago, window smashed. Luckily i have the more than 300 cd's backed up on my hard drive, so all i am out is a cd wallet and a window

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

Yeah, I thought about that. I wonder if I'm just getting old, and am now the 29 year old that used to tell me Queensryche sucked 10 years ago. But as a musician, I think I see music differently than the casual fan. I'm not saying another person isn't allowed to appreciate music I don't consider good. Everyone has different tastes. If someone wants to listen to an entire CD of white noise, more power to him. But I can recognize good songwriting in jazz, big band, The Beatles, and Van Halen. I just don't see it in Limp Bizkit and Good Charlotte. (Chris Rock: "Good Charlotte? More like Mediocre Green Day.") Maybe each generation feels a need to embrace new music when they're 16-21, and bash music that came before and after. But I honestly don't think it's just because I've gotten older. Because I do appreciate some new stuff. I just think the good stuff that's coming out today is much more scarce than it was just 10 years ago.

Bologne! For every single band you listed, there were a hundred others that were absolutely terrible.
You're letting nostalgia get the better of you. Of course you're going to remember the bands that were big from that era.

I grew up listening to so-called grunge from the early 90's, and my father used rag on me all the time for it. Here we are 10 years later, and I already see the numbers of people on these forums that champion Nirvana, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, etc grow with each passing year. Where were you to defend the music a decade ago? Oh that's right, you're voice was overshadowed by the fogies claiming that 70/80's rock was much better.

Has the situation changed? Nope, only the people.

 

[gistech1978]

not only do the record companies keep churning out crappy cookie cutter music
they also churn out less of it the last few years.
the number of cds released has dropped every year since p2p has came to prominence.

they dont tell the public that though, because that would make too much sense.
they would rather cut the number of cds released a year and find a scapegoat instead.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed
Where were you to defend the music a decade ago? Oh that's right, you're voice was overshadowed by the fogies claiming that 70/80's rock was much better.

Has the situation changed? Nope, only the people.

I didn't defend the music 10 years ago. At 19, I was the one saying 70's/80's music was better than Nirvana and Pearl Jam. But now I see music standards have declined even further, and I don't mind hearing Evenflow on the radio. It's better than Linkin Park's hip-hop/rap/rock crap.

You can't deny that, from a musical talent standpoint, singers like Freddie Mercury, Geoff Tate, and even David Lee Roth (to keep on the VH topic) sung more melodically than Linkin Park's singer or Fred Durst. Are you saying that singing melodies is no longer relavent in music? You also have to admit that Eddie Van Halen could play the pants off of Wes Borland or Good Charlotte's guitarist. Are you saying that technical ability no longer matters in music?

I just feel like music companies are taking bands off the street, who got their first guitar 2 months ago, and giving them record contracts. There's not a standard of talent anymore. The public appreciates energy and feeling over songwriting and musical ability.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Yep, and vice versa for the older generation. Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

It's rare for an older gentleman to like music from younger generations. My grandfather thinks each and every single band you listed is complete garbage. Jazz and big band is what he listens to, while claiming that Van Halen is nothing but noise - and I tend to agree.

Some people learn to appreciate music for what is rather than rag on music they don't understand or like.

yup, its plain nostolgia that clouds some peoples eyes. the amount of cr@ppy music released in the past is probably about the same as it is now. its just that over time, cr@ppy music gets forgotten. obiviously also from what i remember the average tracks per album have also gone up.

the arguement that music sucks because it doesn't fit your taste isn't a very good one.

If they made cd's cheaper i would buy them again, as of now I download instead of buy......

so are you entitled to steal others work?

Only if you can get away with it

well as long as you admit it.

what really gets on my nerves are those that try to justify it as something other then what it is.

a generation has grown up ethically twisted. helped along by adolecent angst against "the man" and mixed messages from isps touting "downloading" etc.



that other guy that listed music like van halen, iron maiden etc, i don't see the talent i can't stand em.

beetles i agree were good.

but you see how that works.

 

[Linflas]

For the record:
Enter Best Buy/Circuit City/Tower Records and walk out with a CD without paying for it is stealing music.
Download an mp3 record/rip a friends CD may be a copyright violation but it is not stealing.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
that other guy that listed music like van halen, iron maiden etc, i don't see the talent i can't stand em.

I wasn't the one who said I liked Iron Maiden. In fact, I can't stand them either. But judging them from a musically objective standpoint, I can't deny their talent. Their music is written and played very well. It's just not my taste. But the talent is definitely there. As compared to today's music, also not my style, but with less talent.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Yep, and vice versa for the older generation. Music now is nearly as good as it used to be, you're just twice as old.

It's rare for an older gentleman to like music from younger generations. My grandfather thinks each and every single band you listed is complete garbage. Jazz and big band is what he listens to, while claiming that Van Halen is nothing but noise - and I tend to agree.

Some people learn to appreciate music for what is rather than rag on music they don't understand or like.

yup, its plain nostolgia that clouds some peoples eyes. the amount of cr@ppy music released in the past is probably about the same as it is now. its just that over time, cr@ppy music gets forgotten. obiviously also from what i remember the average tracks per album have also gone up.

the arguement that music sucks because it doesn't fit your taste isn't a very good one.

If they made cd's cheaper i would buy them again, as of now I download instead of buy......

so are you entitled to steal others work?

Only if you can get away with it

well as long as you admit it.

what really gets on my nerves are those that try to justify it as something other then what it is.

a generation has grown up ethically twisted. helped along by adolecent angst against "the man" and mixed messages from isps touting "downloading" etc.



that other guy that listed music like van halen, iron maiden etc, i don't see the talent i can't stand em.

beetles i agree were good.

but you see how that works.

BS, if the technology was around 10,20 or 30 years ago people still would have downloaded MP3's without giving it a second thought.

 

[0roo0roo]

Enter Best Buy/Circuit City/Tower Records and walk out with a CD without paying for it is stealing music.
Download an mp3 record/rip a friends CD may be a copyright violation but it is not stealing.

not again, your talking about technicalities of law, not ethical or moral judgements. trying to make it sound better.

at one time you could have owned another human being and it would have been legal under the law. stealing is stealing.