Best music download program?

I think the issue is that its so easy to download illegal music, if people could walk into a bank and take a load of money so easily as you can download music, then everyone would be doing it.

Rightly or wrongly their will always be another illegal download site or program being developed, and nobody can stop it. Sony tried to stop people copying their cds in America by putting spyware on the cd that went into your computer, and they got sued for it.

Im not condemning or condoning...
 
many of the legal dance sites are now adding digital watermarks to their tracks, so they can be traced to the individual who leaked them - but in general, the labels have been slow to react.

People's opinions need to change - if nobody paid for a service, that service would soon cease to exist, as it couldn't fund itself.
There are an amazing amount of young bands / producers out there making brilliant music - would any of them be able to break through if the labels weren't able to invest in them, early in their career?
I'm not talking about your Sony's or Mute's, i'm talking about the indie's who take the chance very early on.
 
I've found that I buy far more 12"/albums since I've started downloading. Especially as it enables me to sample things that I wouldn't get a chance to do otherwise.

Surely you want your music to be listened to by the widest audience possible?
 
Its not as if legal downloads cost alot £1-£2 depending on what your buying but id much rather buy my music than take it.

Yeah i agree with you Stu, bands/artists will not be able progress and get music released because labels will sign alot less acts and take less risks. Arctic Monkeys are a prime example.
 
Clara said:
I've found that I buy far more 12"/albums since I've started downloading. Especially as it enables me to sample things that I wouldn't get a chance to do otherwise.

Surely you want your music to be listened to by the widest audience possible?
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Yeah but no artist or band is going to make a living just coz everyone has heard their music. And you can sample albums on the internet anyway, without downloading full quality versions.
 
Clara said:
The cost of vinyl should come down then. £7.50+ for one track ain't cheap.
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that's purely because of the price of pressing and distribution.
On average, a 12" dance track has to sell 1000 copies just to break even. Most labels are getting rid of vinyl anyway, only the bigger ones survive.

Illegal downloading has almost crippled some parts of the dance industry - sales have plummeted, labels are no longer offering advances and artists are lucky if they even cover the cost of the studio time.
 
I think some people are a bit too quick to blame the availability of downloads for vinyl's demise. If someone wants to dj with a record, they'll buy it. Anyway, some mixes and rarer tracks you can't get anyway. Most people who download tracks tend to look for more mainstream music. As I've said before, I've bought an awful lot more cds and vinyl as a result of downloading. Infact, it was probably this that got my into djing.

Most of the stuff I download are mixes which aren't harming anyoned's income.
 
Clara said:
I think some people are a bit too quick to blame the availability of downloads for vinyl's demise..
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The two go hand in hand. The surge in CD dj'ing (and ultimate illegal download of individual tracks) has meant a drastic reduction in vinyl sales. There'll always be the hardcore vinyl user, but even the "big" releases aren't shifting many copies. In the past few months, i've spoken with a couple of guys who run extremely big labels and who are spending 2006 sorting out a digital-only release schedule.

The option is there now, via beatport, djdownload (Juno soon !) etc, to buy top quality master copies of tracks for little more than £1. Everyone's a winner.
Perhaps dance music as opposed to chart music is different, as it is led by non-profit making independent labels, run by people who do it for the love of the scene, not to make money for shareholders.
 
I'd be extremely happy if the likes of Juno did that. However I still buy the stuff I really like. Nothing beats physically owning it.
 
Clara said:
I'd be extremely happy if the likes of Juno did that. However I still buy the stuff I really like. Nothing beats physically owning it.
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Juno will be great, as the price will be set by the label itself, so can offer freebies, cheap deals etc.
 
Agreed with Clara, there are many factors linked to the fall of 12" sales. The days when small labels would shift thousands are also when alot of people still preferred to listen to vinyl at home. Now that the Vinyl market is almost limited to DJ's only then its easy to see where these sales are going. As aforementioned, the introduction of the CD to DJing has also caused a stir.

I think its a bit far fetched when people say music will cease if people keep downloading music for free. Styles and quality may change but I think you'll find most musicians have a passion for music and dont do it for the money alone. Its like saying no one will want to paint anymore if people refuse to buy paintings. I dont know any musician that started out; thinking of the money. I'm not in favour of illegal downloads but its one of those subjects where alot of people dont see the big picture imo.
 
dam0 said:
Agreed with Clara, there are many factors linked to the fall of 12" sales. The days when small labels would shift thousands are also when alot of people still preferred to listen to vinyl at home. Now that the Vinyl market is almost limited to DJ's only then its easy to see where these sales are going. As aforementioned, the introduction of the CD to DJing has also caused a stir.

I think its a bit far fetched when people say music will cease if people keep downloading music for free. Styles and quality may change but I think you'll find most musicians have a passion for music and dont do it for the money alone. Its like saying no one will want to paint anymore if people refuse to buy paintings. I dont know any musician that started out; thinking of the money. I'm not in favour of illegal downloads but its one of those subjects where alot of people dont see the big picture imo.
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it's not particularly about an artist making money, as you say, most people do it for the love of it, but it's the labels who will not be able to finance small releases and get these bands/prodcuers on the first rung of the ladder.
 
oh dear....here comes my say lol
I use Limewire to download music and listen to on my computer but I agree with a few other people on here that downloadin illegal tracks is good for hearing a tune and deciding whether to buy it or not. Who wants to walk into a music store and buy a **** CD for £12 (I did this the other day when I took a chance with Techno sessions...woops) when all they have to do is preview one or two tracks on the album via limewire and decide. A lot of the songs on my computer (around 1500 out of 2000) I have from buying them in the shops.
I no longer download all the chart crap and the mainstream stuff. The only thing I download are megamixes and DJs live mixes from concerts. I've got into the habit of writing a whole list of songs I want, printing them out and heading off down to my local music store (god they love me in there lol) and giving them a list of songs and seeing if they have them...I don't agree with illegal downloading as such but I am as much to blame as everyone else who uses it.

Phew....sorry if I went off on one there lol
 
i like to buy vinyl, i may download stuff from soulseek review them for a bit, then go out then buy the vinyl. I think thats only fair, then you are buying and paying for what deserves your cash. How many albums have you bought with a track you like on it, only to find out the rest is pants and a waste of money?
 
They can't keep doing this forever. And, even if they sue every shareware user in the UK, they can't stop you from downloading from users in other countries. It's a futile effort of a dying industry.

Okay, so they have some costs of producing CD's, but the major costs of these labels is marketing and advertisement. It's like they're trying to tell us what is good or not to buy. Too much money to tell people what they should think, when actually they can think for themselves and have an opinion of their own.

How many tunes have I discovered here in Spotlight, how many excellent DJ's with sets I would never listen in my country... I listen, I learn and I share with my friends.

Phonografic industry is doing it all wrong, they shouldn't fight files sharing, they should understand this huge change and try to lead the way.

People are not looking for an especific artist or group anymore, they want a reliable source and they wanna be the first ones to know. Think about it and maybe there's a new business opportunity the big-cias. are missing.
 
I don't think I agree with it being a "dying industry", when bands like the Arctic Monkeys are just about to become the fastest selling debut artists of all time !
 
In Canada a label is sueing the RIAA because they sued a girl which downloaded an illegal MP3 (the songs was from the label). The 15 year old girl downloaded Sk8tergirl. The labels the RIAA because they are damaging and insulting the fans with insane claims :D

Guys be carefull if you legally buy MP3's and share them. Most of the tracks contain watermarks with the date and owner credentials inside. They know it is your MP3.
 
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