Download Your Face
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 by Matt
Okay, I’m kind of cheating here. I touched on piracy before about a year ago. But recently in some forum discussions I managed to get some points across and had some people disagree with me. Anyways, here are some of the points.
Record labels shouldn’t be allowed to keep re-releasing the same albums over and over again. This is why I download. To protest this.
So you bought a copy of the Beatles’ White Album on vinyl and now you want it on MP3? Well you do know you can rip it onto your computer. The reason the record label is “double dipping” these albums is because the vinyl copy doesn’t sell well anymore. Everyone wants it either on CD or MP3. Why the hell would the record label continue to sell it on an obsolete format?
Besides, no one is forcing you to buy it on MP3 if you already have it on vinyl. Just because you bought the old version of it doesn’t mean you have a “right” to the new copy. Do I have a right to a new Mustang just because I have one from 1995? Nope. Do I want one? Yes.
However, I do hear this argument being used by people who don’t even own the original album. What the fuck?
I’m just doing it to hear how the album sounds like.
Yeah, except there are perfectly legal ways to hear how the album sounds like. You can either listen to the singles on the radio or internet. You can listen to song samples on most online retailers. Or you even go to a record store and they will allow you to prelisten to the album before buying it. It’s quite nice.
Artists don’t get paid much for each album anyways.
While it might be true that royalties are a bit low, you have to understand that without a record label or a studio, the bands can’t make albums. Besides, if the album sells well, then the label will pay the band to release another album. If the album sales are low, then the label will drop the band. Recording an album isn’t cheap. It can end up costing quite a lot in the end. People aren’t going to work for free, and studio gear isn’t anywhere close to cheap.
I will probably end up revisiting this topic somewhere in the near future. But till then remember. The only reason you download things illegally is because you are too cheap to buy the actual song/album. Stop making up bullshit excuses.










