• Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.

    Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.

    Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?

Music Downloading

goldenquagsire

goldenquagsire

Rubber dinghy rapids, bro!
I know that there are a few music-heads here, so it's worth asking here.

Okay, so obviously I could just go torrent music. Or download it in any number of illegal ways. But those methods can be dangerous, and although I'm not a complete idiot and know how to avoid viruses most of the time, I'd rather not take too many chances.

Furthermore, I kinda feel wrong about just downloading a load of music en masse without paying for it. However, I can't be arsed to hunt down CDs and stuff. Also, I know that iTunes is shit. So basically, my question is as follows:

What is a good, paid-for music downloading service/site that is relatively cheap, doesn't have any irritating DRM shit and is certified virus-free?

Of course, I could just google a few sites, but what I really want is opinions, experience! What works best for you guys?
 
I've bought stuff from Amazon with no problem--all their tracks are DRM free, and reasonably priced (about 89/99 cents a song and whole albums for less than $10-$20)
 
I can vouch for Amazon. I ordered almost my whole collection from there.

Oh, and torrents are safe. I've done it myself quite a few times with old games and such. the trick is to read the comments and get the most downloaded torrents; it's bound to say when it has a virus.
 
I would use torrents, but I'm just that bit paranoid. Not only viruses and stuff, but getting caught. I know it's extremely rare for anyone to get caught, but like I said, paranoia.

Also there's a bit of guilt at not paying artists for their work, but it's not a huge deal for me. :3
 
Yeah, I know that most of the money from CDs goes to manufacturers etc. etc. but w/e. Can I be excused for having morals just this once? :P
 
Are you implying someone who chooses to support artists directly instead of give money to people who think they can take ownership over other peoples' art lacks morals?

Aaah, but I'm just being an ass. Go for Amazon, if you must.
 
Departure Song said:
Are you implying someone who chooses to support artists directly instead of give money to people who think they can take ownership over other peoples' art lacks morals?
Click to expand...
If by "support artists directly" you mean go to gigs, then I'm afraid I have neither the money nor the time to go to a great many live shows. Even if my contribution via bought music is minimal, it's still there.

I'm not saying that either of us lacks morals. Just that we go about different ways of reassuring our consciences. :P
 
Not buying an album is more supportive of an artist, in my opinion. ;) But I don't want to turn this into an argument unless you want to. :P
 
Well, I've already got the answer I needed, so why not? :P

I think that if I bought a band's albums and didn't go to their shows, it would be more moral than if I didn't buy their albums and didn't go to their shows. In scenario A, the band are getting at least some of my money, no matter how little, in exchange for their art. In scenario B, they aren't getting a single penny.
 
Problem is that the difference in money between a) and b) is minimal and that the money spent on corporations only enhances their idea of supremacy.
 
(This is assuming your artist of choice is releasing albums on an RIAA label.)

In scenario A, you are giving the artist a laughably small amount of money - most sources point to less than a cent per CD. That's not enough for anybody to live off of and is more of an insult than anything else. This isn't really what I don't like, though...

In scenario A, you're also giving money to the record labels. This is where it begins to make me just a little angry. They don't care about music at all. They care about numbers. They don't really care if Britney Spears is a valid artist or not - all they care about is money and Billboard positions.
They had a chance to move forward, to evolve with technology and address the changing needs of consumers - and they didn't. Instead, they panicked - they showed their hand as power-hungry dinosaurs, and they started to demonize their own customers, the people whose love of music had given them massive profits for decades. They used their unfair record contracts - the ones that allowed them to own all the music - and went after children, grandparents, single moms, even deceased great grandmothers - alongside many other common people who did nothing more than download some songs and leave them in a shared folder - something that has become the cultural norm to the iPod generation. Joining together in what has been referred to as an illegal cartel and using the RIAA as their attack dogs, the record labels have spent billions of dollars attempting to scare people away from downloading music.
Click to expand...

This article is a bit lengthy, but it's so well-written and interesting that I'd encourage anyone who wants to know more about this issue to read it.
 
Hrm, I read the article a while back. Interesting, certainly, and it makes good points. However, from that bit you quoted, I can show you problem #2 I have with torrenting and other forms of illegal download.

and went after children, grandparents, single moms, even deceased great grandmothers - alongside many other common people who did nothing more than download some songs and leave them in a shared folder - something that has become the cultural norm to the iPod generation.
Click to expand...
the record labels have spent billions of dollars attempting to scare people away from downloading music.
Click to expand...

See, as rare as it is for people to get caught, there's still the risk.
 
goldenquagsire said:
Okay, so obviously I could just go torrent music. Or download it in any number of illegal ways. But those methods can be dangerous
Click to expand...

I don't see how it's even remotely dangerous. I just use limewire to check music, if I like the band then I buy an album or something off eBay. Apparently, music on limewire with no "BitRate" is a virus; if it has a bitrate then it's supposedly virus free, I literally never get viruses on LimeWire.

If I were you, and I felt bad for ripping off artists(which I don't), then i'd just download a heap of songs and either order the CD's with the good music on it from Amazon/eBay, or give money to charity (or whatever).

Better yet, Download the music and Invest the money into getting a decent Anti-Virus so you're not shit scared of "taking too many chances".
---

I think that if I bought a band's albums and didn't go to their shows, it would be more moral than if I didn't buy their albums and didn't go to their shows. In scenario A, the band are getting at least some of my money, no matter how little, in exchange for their art. In scenario B, they aren't getting a single penny.
Click to expand...

Well technically the guy selling you the album gets the money, because they've already purchased the album(in-stock) from the band and are selling it at a rip-off price, but I agree; I tend to buy their albums, but avoid $130 gigs held in distant towns which I can't be assed driving to.


Dewgong said:
^ that article was extremely well written, yes.

i enjoyed it greatly. thank you for linking.
Click to expand...

Dewgong said:
^ that article was extremely well written, yes.

i enjoyed it greatly. thank you for linking.
Click to expand...
Double post maeks mah eyes go t3h wonkeh '.`
 
Felidire said:
Double post maeks mah eyes go t3h wonkeh '.`
Click to expand...
Oh no, another fluke double post. I must complain about it rather than reporting one of the two posts and saying that it's yet another server bleep.


I download music (both from mediafire/rapidshare links on LJ and from waffles.fm), buy stuff off iTunes or Amazon occasionally, and go to concerts whenever I can. :3
 
I download from mediafire/rapidshare stuff too, but if I like a CD I end up buying it anyhow.
 
Watershed said:
I download from mediafire/rapidshare stuff too, but if I like a CD I end up buying it anyhow.
Click to expand...

i am this way too. i don't download very often; when i do, i usually download something i just can't find in town. i download what i know i will like and i know i will pay for eventually. or, like i've done in recent days, i download a digital copy of something i already own on "archaic" formats, like vinyl, cassettes, etc.
 
I don't like vinyl or cassettes, sue me. I download a lot of stuff I like just to listen to it a few times (and I forget to delete most of it so loads of stuff I listen to on a semi-regular basis is floating around on my music server). If I like it a lot, say 8-10/10 range, I'll buy it. If it's a band I know I will love anyway (like it's the new Dream Theater album) I just buy it anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom