Students put their own spin on downloading music

USA today ^ | 4.20.03 | Jefferson Graham

[freepatriot32]

LOS ANGELES

[Not Insane]

__It's funny how everybody's arguement revolves around them not liking what's popular now.__

No, it doesn't revolve around that. It is an interesting side issue, however. Music is art, and art is subjective. That's why one man even called 9/11 a beautiful artistic event.

That has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue at hand however. And I do reserve the right to say that some art really is just plain BAD.

[Not Insane]

__That's because it WOULD be a bad thing. Reducing the level of artistic expression in a culture is ALWAYS bad, even if certain people are too damn narrow minded to get it.__

No, not always, especially if it is market driven reduction in expression. I am a musician and was reading an interesting interview with the bass player from King Crimson. He said that one thing a musician must avoid is listening to bad music, because it causes you to accept it as, well, acceptable.

Narrow minded is bad, sometimes. Other times it can be called having a "focused" mind. Likewise, it is good to be open minded. Just don't be so open minded that your brains fall out. Calling people narrow minded just because they have the guts to say something is wrong or bad or stupid is, well, narrow minded.

__It's apparent at this point that you're just arguing to be an insulting dick. Be an insulting dick to somebody else.__

Unlike you, at no time have I said something insulting. Just because we disagree, doesn't make me an insulting di**.

Calling me names just because I disagree with you also does not make, nor enhance your point.

[discostu]

No it does revolve around it, everybody eventually get's to some varioat of this sentence "well since current music sucks anyway who cares if the industry dies". That's neither interesting nor a side issue, truthfully it has NOTHING to do with it, but that's your final conclusion, that even if I'm right and you're wrong who cares because it all sucks anyway.

[Not Insane]

__That's neither interesting nor a side issue, truthfully it has NOTHING to do with it, but that's your final conclusion,__

No, it's not my final conclusion. There is a lot of good music being produced today. Unfortunately, almost none of it is what you would call "popular." Good music comes from the heart and not the need for more money. An economically based music industry will produce a lot of over-hyped crap. An art based music industry will produce music for the mind, soul and heart.

I go for quality over quantity.

[discostu]

you're the one who's arguement consists of:
"You say that like it's a bad thing" which is a 100% condescending pointless insulting sentence, next you move on to:
"Well I do fine without music" which is AGAIN condescending and insulting, and also entirely besides the point, still not satisfied you resort to:
"But it all sucks anyway" MORE condescension and insults, and finally:
"but I think everything will be fine" still more condescension and utterly pointless.

And thusly, because all of your arguements revolve around a condescending attitude, I have decided you're an insulting dick. Don't like it, stop being condescending with every single post. Only insulting dicks do that.

[discostu]

Oh goody more condescension, and our first glimpse at your commie heart. Now apparently anybody that seeks to get paid for their creation isn't really an artist anyway. Go away. I'm tired of your BS and I'm not going to read any more of it so don't bother wasting the bandwidth.

[steve-b]

Reducing the level of artistic expression in a culture is ALWAYS bad

Since there is no better phrase to describe the effect of the incumbent music business than "reducing the level of artistic expression", its demise will be a good thing.

[steve-b]

everybody eventually get's to some varioat of this sentence "well since current music sucks anyway who cares if the industry dies".

Beethoven survived perfectly well without the incumbent industry. Enema-em would be utterly lost without it. That tells me pretty much all I need to know about its worth.

[steve-b]

If you say so. you're saying I can easily find a band that sounds kind of like 2nd era King Crimson but with a Nick Cave touch to the lyrics and more emphasis on keyboard?

You search for commentators who know King Crimson and Nick Cave and follow up their recommendations on other stuff you might like. Duh.

[discostu]

Oh please, that is such a moronic apples and oranges comparison that the bewst it can is prove me right. Take the same advice I gave not-insane: piss up a rope. I'm done with this thread and the condescending jackasses on it. Bye.

[steve-b]

Take the same advice I gave not-insane: piss up a rope. I'm done with this thread and the condescending jackasses on it.

So you tell everybody else to "piss up a rope", and they're the "condescending jackasses". Geez, even Baghdad Bob is better connected to reality....

[unixfox]

In fact, he says, he doesn't see it as theft.

If by chance he ever records a hit song I would bet he would change his tune.

[Mamzelle]

How does this affect the sales of computer-based games?

[js1138]

If by chance he ever records a hit song I would bet he would change his tune.

There's something deeply troubling about the whole music industry. Books and magazines could easily be digitized and copied to CDs, but they seldom are (althought many magazines and newspapers are available free online).

Something about the marketing of music will give within the next five to ten years. Either prices of CDs will come down (how can you justify paying the same price for an hour of audio as you do for four hours of video?) -- or the whole scheme will change.

Piracy is indeed illegal, and after a week's flirtation with napster, I bailed out of the downloading scene. But I don't buy CDs anymore, either, except used ones. This problem is not going to be solved by copy protection. If it is solved at all, it will be by some imaginative restructuring of the business.

[rattrap]

your opinion of what is wailing and what is music is valueless, the percieved quality of what is being broadcast, played, marketed or downloaded has nothing to do with the issue of whether it is legal or not.

[MacDorcha]

i never said the price was equivelant. but the price will only increase as you dont buy from them. and eminems newest album cost 12 bucks at the right stores, Two Towers cost at least 20 anywhere. Two Towers also sells more. as for the video rentals, thats not completely accurate of a comparison. see, when you BUY a cd, you have it. period. when you RENT a video, you have it as long as you rented it for. period. when you download, you are neither "borrowing" or "renting" and you paid nothing at all, so it isn't a purchase of any kind, but you DO have the merchandise for an indefinite period of time. as for being "no more than 1/4 the value of a DVD" ever heard of a little thing thats in wide use now called "dual formatting"? you do realize that the money you spend on any of these items is propotionate to that spent by your parents on records when they were younger? and people dont make there own clothing because it takes time to get it right, and most arent skilled enough to do it themselves. you pay for the convenience. when you take away the price, all it is is convenience. then you just denied the very thing a free market stands for. money. if you cant afford a cd, listen to it on the radio. they paid for it so that you could do so. now, you dont get to pick the song or anything, but beggars cant be choosers, now can they? stealing music is like a bum holding up a sign that says "saving up for a cadilac" if you cant afford it, dont waste you time!

[MacDorcha]

"You start gouging customers, and you ARE writing your own businesses death warrant."

quit gassing up your car then.

[MacDorcha]

"You start gouging customers, and you ARE writing your own businesses death warrant. "

or tell your girlfiend that next when you dont get her that diamond necklace, because the diamonds are worth like 5 cents for the big ones. you're paying several hundred to several thousand times the actual worth there. why dont you start a diamond smuggling business?

[MacDorcha]

amen!

[MacDorcha]

"Quiet can be good. Music is really not all that important"

then why defend the stand point of dowloading all the music you can for free? if you truly found this out, and it really changes you to think so, why would you let people overload their brains with music all the time? and it will increase before it dies, and it will take a while for the decrease to show. people will listen to music nonstop if they all thought that dowloading whatever you want is alright.