[LiveFreeOr..]

As I understand it most musicians say they do not make much money off CD sales, nor concert tickets. In fact most do not make any money that way. The place they say they make their money is on sales of shirts and other memorabilia at the shows, which the music companies have not yet found a way to get their fingers into.

The record companies say royalties do not make it to the musicians because the money is spent on promotion.

So if I understand this correctly stealing music by downloading songs free does not rob the musicians of anything and if I am to believe the record companies it doesn’t rob them either, but only the promoters.

My point is these statements by the musicians and record companies when put together do not make a good argument that downloading music is theft but rather a clever way of eliminating offensive adds.

[lorrainer]

About the only CDs I buy these days are old classic blues artists. They are not as expensive as top-40 stuff, and I don't begrudge these guys the pennies they get in royalties.

One thing that the music companies don't understand is that if they'd try and put out GOOD MUSIC these days, their sales would go up. I can't listen to most of the crap on the radio, and it almost kills me to go to the store to buy when I have to listen to that garbage.

[jocon307]

"To know, know, know them is to sue, sue, sue them..."

LOL, this could also be the motto of ATLA, the American Trial Lawers Association.

[SamAdams76]

Believe it or not, there was a time when whole album sides were played on the radio.

During the 1970s in Boston, there were several radio stations that played album sides on a regular basis. I made a lot of tapes (many of which I bought the albums later on). Got turned on to a lot of music that I never would have considered buying otherwise. The recording industry is missing a huge opportunity to promote their products. Only a tiny fraction of what is out there gets played on FM radio. How are we going to be exposed to all this other music? Don't tell me by 30-second clips on Amazon.com or hanging around record stores with those awful headphones. I've never purchased an album based on "sampling sound clips" and never will. I must listen to most of the album once or twice before buying.

As for pricing, there is no reason why CDs can't be sold for a few dollars - which would wipe out the problem of homemade CDs overnight in the same manner taping of movies off HBO was eliminated when the prices of videos/DVDs dropped from $90 to $10-15. Now that DVDs are packed with extra features, it's even more of a no-brainer to just buy the DVD.

Consumers just don't get good value with CDs these days. Besides, they know how cheap CDs are. Why you can get a stack of 100 blank CDs at Wal-Mart for about $15 - or 15 cents per CD. So why do pre-recorded CDs still sell for $18.98? Don't tell me it's because of royalties that the record companies must pay. Because even classical CDs are priced that high and there are no royalties to pay for works of Bach and Beethoven that are hundreds of years old. The consumer is getting fleeced and nobody likes getting ripped off.

$34.98 for the Beatles White Albume! It's true, I've seen this pricing before. Plan on spending close to $20 for any other Beatles album. I would love to own the entire Beatles catalog on CD and would gladly pay as much as $9.99 per CD to do so. But $18.98 to $34.98? Get the hell out of here! In the meantime, I have converted most of my tape and vinyl collection to MP3.

The music industry would also be wise to enhance their CDs in the same manner as the movie industry with extra features. How much extra would it cost to tack on concert footage or music videos onto the CDs so that they can be viewed on a computer? What about better liner notes? Most CDs these days come with a sparse booklet with virtually no information at all. That is inexcusable. Then there is the music itself. Instead of wrapping two or three decent songs around filler, take some extra time in the studio and make a complete album - as was done during the 1960s and 70s. Give the consumers some value for their money and they will buy.

[Timesink]

On one Web site I visited, (www.freerepublic.com),

He better be careful! If word gets out in the newsroom that this is a conservative site, he may not be in for a very fun week.

[traditionalist]

I would love to see all the record labels go bankrupt.

[staytrue]

I find it ironic that most of popular music is how love conquers all and money has no meaning. Then they sue your ass when you copy some music that you love.