15 replies to this topic

[Alyster]

Yar, a gigabyte of rum I shall have. 

[*Anastasia]

Voted for all except last; I don't technically pirate "ebooks", in the sense of stuff to put on a Kindle or whatever, but I have downloaded books in PDF form and saved PNG images of pages (one by one) from Google Books, which amounts to the same thing.

[Jon32492]

I download games but if I like them, I'll buy them. If I don't care too much, I wont.

[*Anastasia]

I download games but if I like them, I'll buy them. If I don't care too much, I wont.

This is my take with films, books, programs, and some games. The record labels can kiss my ass, the sons of bitches.

[Jon32492]

I haven't bought a song in idk how long. I listen to radio and Pandora. I don't download them illegally, but I don't buy them either.

[The Dark Empire]

If I have money I'll buy it. If not I youtube mp3 it

[Infopowerbroker]

I haven't bought a song in idk how long. I listen to radio and Pandora. I don't download them illegally, but I don't buy them either.

you stream licensed music. good enough to be legit

[Jon32492]

I haven't bought a song in idk how long. I listen to radio and Pandora. I don't download them illegally, but I don't buy them either.

you stream licensed music. good enough to be legit
 

I know, it's completely legit. But I don't pay for it, so it's free to me.

[Chancellor Gunn]

I downloaded music when I was like 13 and by downloaded I mean like 10 or so. Since then I've just used YouTube, FM, or recently Spotify.

[rotty]

I have always purchased my music, ebooks and movies. 

All my pictures are stolen though.  

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

I wasn't sure how to answer this.  I buy most of my music, movies, etc., but in the past I have used Limewire (when it still existed) to download music.  But as a performer myself, I get the argument that artists should be paid for their work.  Basically, if I want a piece of music my first stop is iTunes.  If they don't have it, I will usually check to see if it is available legit anywhere else.  If not I will usually then check mp3lemon, which downloads music from some sketchy Russian site, but it's all free and they often have even relatively obscure stuff.  I've never gotten movies or TV shows other than to buy them, e-books either.

[Redezra]

I used to download everything through torrents. And then I got money so I buy everything now.

[*Anastasia]

But as a performer myself, I get the argument that artists should be paid for their work.

I think most people get that argument. The problem with music is, if an artist is signed to a major record label, chances are they're not being paid anyway. Record labels indebt artists to themselves, then confiscate their royalties to pay back the loans to cover production costs. So while the record labels are raking in the profits, the artists aren't getting a single red cent. After I realized just how purvasive this sort of arsepuppetry is, I stopped feeling guilty for 'stealing from artists.' That's all the record companies, not the pirates.

[Arikus]

Damn, I feel like a bad person.
I download everything. But music I mostly listen to stuff on spotify (although they pay artists shit all, something like 4 million listens to get enough as selling a CD), and download a little bit of my favorites to put on my iPod for offline playing.

I download a lot of video games because I'm poor. I try to buy them on steam if they go on sale like 50% off.
I download films to watch with my roommates, because I've grown up in China and I don't feel bad.

To be fair china has destroyed my problems with pirating stuff.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

But as a performer myself, I get the argument that artists should be paid for their work.

I think most people get that argument. The problem with music is, if an artist is signed to a major record label, chances are they're not being paid anyway. Record labels indebt artists to themselves, then confiscate their royalties to pay back the loans to cover production costs. So while the record labels are raking in the profits, the artists aren't getting a single red cent. After I realized just how purvasive this sort of arsepuppetry is, I stopped feeling guilty for 'stealing from artists.' That's all the record companies, not the pirates.

 
Two wrongs don't make a right.  Besides, I am confident that Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida are getting paid every time I buy a new ABBA remaster from iTunes.

[Haflinger]

You happen to be correct about ABBA. Björn and company never declared bankruptcy, unlike most musical artists.

 

However a great number of copyright royalties go into the hands of Paul McCartney or whoever inherited them from Michael Jackson. Both those two men made a business out of buying copyrights from bankrupt artists, and got very rich as a result. For example, when you buy a copy of Peggy Sue, McCartney gets the royalty money.

 

And that's not even counting all the copyrights held directly by music companies themselves. Usually when an artist declares bankruptcy, the primary creditor is the music company, and so if the copyright vultures like McCartney don't sweep up the copyrights, the music company gets them.