Downloads
- Thread starter robbo23
- Start date
riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.......
I had a track that was out less than 2 weeks ago and when I now search for it in google, it is ALL OVER these torrent sites, scumballs.
Support the scene.
so you don't have one tune you have dowwnloaded for free?
Morbyd
Moderator
Fair play to ya, Stu. You're right, of course.
I'll admit that I tend to buy artist albums, but will download compilations. I suppose my rationale (right or wrong) is that the artists get something from their own releases but little/nothing from DJ mixes. That said, if it's a really good compilation than I'll buy ajhard copy for the shelf.
Just one question - why do sites like Beatport, Juno, etc. charge more than twice the price for songs than, for example, iTunes? Is electronic dance music that much more expensive to produce than rock, pop, etc??
I'll admit that I tend to buy artist albums, but will download compilations. I suppose my rationale (right or wrong) is that the artists get something from their own releases but little/nothing from DJ mixes. That said, if it's a really good compilation than I'll buy ajhard copy for the shelf.
Just one question - why do sites like Beatport, Juno, etc. charge more than twice the price for songs than, for example, iTunes? Is electronic dance music that much more expensive to produce than rock, pop, etc??
the pricing in places like Beatport is definitely up for debate (especially UK Vs US), but Itunes only gives you a low-res copy of the track (128kbps I think - in AAC format) - not good enough to dj in a club with.
Beatport etc give you a 320kbps or a WAV master, so you're getting a perfect digital copy.
It's worth shopping around. DJ Download have just reduced their prices to just over £1 a track - I don't think this is an excessive price to be paying for a track you're into.
I run a small digital label and you would be amazed just how little we sell. It is HUGE hard graft for very little reward. Making music continues to cost people at my level a lot of money in studio fees, as the return on a digital single is just not enough, unless you have a massive hit (e.g. Pryda or that Samim track).
I eagerly await the reply that if I don't like it, I should stop doing it, or that I should just be grateful that i'm able to be involved. Unfortunately it just doesn't work like that. If myself and my peers can't receive a return on our hard work, then many will no longer be able to produce. We're then left with hundreds of bedroom producers flooding the already-saturated digi market with what can only be described as utter dross.
2007 has been f*cking excellent for dance music, so many good sounds - I don't think it's too much to ask to support the scene that we all love - rather than raping it for everything possible.
Morbyd
Moderator
iTunes' new DRM-free songs are $1.29 for 256kb... still not 320, of course, but good enough for near-deaf folks like me
But you're right, $2 a track isn't bad... especially if you're DJing and you'll play the song out... certainly cheaper than vinyl.
Ewan Pearson made a great comment on his blog, regarding his latest Fabric CD....
"ª This information is for those of you who've decided that people who have chosen to make music for a living - rather than making cakes or shoes or selling weapons or teaching joga - are still entitled to some kind of financial reward for what they do and so who haven't already downloaded it from some Russian bloodsucker or collector nerd with a blog masquerading as a "fan who's just helping to promote the music they love, man." Your reward is a lovely tin box with my name on it and the ability to sleep at night. I, and much more importantly all the producers and labels included who struggle to survive in what are frankly difficult times, salute you!"
"ª This information is for those of you who've decided that people who have chosen to make music for a living - rather than making cakes or shoes or selling weapons or teaching joga - are still entitled to some kind of financial reward for what they do and so who haven't already downloaded it from some Russian bloodsucker or collector nerd with a blog masquerading as a "fan who's just helping to promote the music they love, man." Your reward is a lovely tin box with my name on it and the ability to sleep at night. I, and much more importantly all the producers and labels included who struggle to survive in what are frankly difficult times, salute you!"
"
Well, I put it a little harshly perhaps, but for me MP3 blogs are the thin end of the illegal downloading wedge. I know countless producers and labels that are up against it, some labels that are rather well-known that are on the verge of going out of business because of the collapse of record sales. I don't doubt that many MP3 bloggers are fine and genuine cheerleaders for the music they love. I think those that are putting up deleted vinyl stuff from yesteryear are performing a useful function in keeping this stuff as part of the common culture. That's all good.
But i have a big problem with people giving away mp3s of new tracks without permission. Most people in dance music are aiming to sell a small amount of a specialist product; a blogger giving away mp3s of that great new track will take away a percentage of sales. It's no good putting a disclaimer up saying if you object i will take the link down; who has time to go and check out who's giving away what? Giving away something that doesn't belong to you is at a very basic level just plain wrong. Mine is an ethical objection and i can't get past it. I think people that use it as a promotional device are misguided and are contributing to the development of a culture in which music is considered something that one doesn't have to pay for, or people aren't allowed to make a living from. It should just be a gift to society. After all we enjoy our job; how dare we ask to make a living from it as well? And although it's interesting being on the front-line of an experiment in techno-anarchism, if I decide to open that experiment out and not pay for my socks or cakes, my joga classes or my rent then pretty soon I will end up in jail. And no-one’s going to let me off because I’m a musician.
Record sales have plummeted and it’s largely due to piracy. I’m lucky to have another life as a DJ - I can decide to make my living by playing records and treat the music I make as "promotion" for that. But for producers that don't DJ, or people who have spent years trying to run independent labels it's the most difficult time ever and it's just getting worse. So this is a practical objection to go with the ethical one. But there's a third romantic one too.
I love good writing about music. I used to devour the NME every week when i was a kid (when it actually had writing in it) and now i get much of my fix of music writing from the internet and some of that from blogs. But if you're a great writer you can evangelise and get people excited about music without having to have the track there to back you up. There are brilliant writers like Phil Sherburne who would never dream of giving people's tracks away. Part of me feels that if you have to play the damn track rather than evoke it or describe it so that people want to go out and hear it then what are you doing writing a blog in the first place?
There are some blogs which are just narcissists showing off the amount of promos they can get their hands on. Worse than that there are the ones which are just download links; parasites, selling advertising and making money from giving away other people's hard work whilst pretending to be part of some cuddly community of sharing. Real community would mean considering those that make the music too. These are the people that get me really angry; the people that add nothing to our culture. They create nothing whilst slowly helping to strangle the thing they "pretend" to love.
I think i would have less of a problem if MP3 blggers streamed lo-res versions of the tracks they were talking about. I just think letting people download is wrong. I've thought about this loads and I can't get past that. I may be putting my head above the parapet a little here but it breaks my heart to see how my friends who have struggled to build up independent businesses and careers as label owners and producers are falling by the wayside. We're not talking about Mercedes we're talking about struggling to subsist. As I said, this isn't really about me - I'm one of the lucky few making a living. But its almost impossible to make a living as an artist now without DJing or doing something else. And its no good saying well other people have menial / badly paid jobs too. I don't doubt that; but I always pay people for the services and the work they do on my behalf. I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm just asking for fair treatment.
This is obviously a much bigger issue than just blogs, and I don't mean to beat on genuine music fans. I just wanted to put another perspective; one that I think people are sometimes afraid to voice, because they worry that it will sound like the whingeing of the privileged. That's the implication of Ronan's last paragraph and it's one that I absolutely refute. There is an ethical issue here and people are in serious amounts of denial about it. Anyway, preachy bit over. I will get back to being jolly about new records soon, I promise. But there will never be a download link on this blog. Never ever.
xx ewan"
Well, I put it a little harshly perhaps, but for me MP3 blogs are the thin end of the illegal downloading wedge. I know countless producers and labels that are up against it, some labels that are rather well-known that are on the verge of going out of business because of the collapse of record sales. I don't doubt that many MP3 bloggers are fine and genuine cheerleaders for the music they love. I think those that are putting up deleted vinyl stuff from yesteryear are performing a useful function in keeping this stuff as part of the common culture. That's all good.
But i have a big problem with people giving away mp3s of new tracks without permission. Most people in dance music are aiming to sell a small amount of a specialist product; a blogger giving away mp3s of that great new track will take away a percentage of sales. It's no good putting a disclaimer up saying if you object i will take the link down; who has time to go and check out who's giving away what? Giving away something that doesn't belong to you is at a very basic level just plain wrong. Mine is an ethical objection and i can't get past it. I think people that use it as a promotional device are misguided and are contributing to the development of a culture in which music is considered something that one doesn't have to pay for, or people aren't allowed to make a living from. It should just be a gift to society. After all we enjoy our job; how dare we ask to make a living from it as well? And although it's interesting being on the front-line of an experiment in techno-anarchism, if I decide to open that experiment out and not pay for my socks or cakes, my joga classes or my rent then pretty soon I will end up in jail. And no-one’s going to let me off because I’m a musician.
Record sales have plummeted and it’s largely due to piracy. I’m lucky to have another life as a DJ - I can decide to make my living by playing records and treat the music I make as "promotion" for that. But for producers that don't DJ, or people who have spent years trying to run independent labels it's the most difficult time ever and it's just getting worse. So this is a practical objection to go with the ethical one. But there's a third romantic one too.
I love good writing about music. I used to devour the NME every week when i was a kid (when it actually had writing in it) and now i get much of my fix of music writing from the internet and some of that from blogs. But if you're a great writer you can evangelise and get people excited about music without having to have the track there to back you up. There are brilliant writers like Phil Sherburne who would never dream of giving people's tracks away. Part of me feels that if you have to play the damn track rather than evoke it or describe it so that people want to go out and hear it then what are you doing writing a blog in the first place?
There are some blogs which are just narcissists showing off the amount of promos they can get their hands on. Worse than that there are the ones which are just download links; parasites, selling advertising and making money from giving away other people's hard work whilst pretending to be part of some cuddly community of sharing. Real community would mean considering those that make the music too. These are the people that get me really angry; the people that add nothing to our culture. They create nothing whilst slowly helping to strangle the thing they "pretend" to love.
I think i would have less of a problem if MP3 blggers streamed lo-res versions of the tracks they were talking about. I just think letting people download is wrong. I've thought about this loads and I can't get past that. I may be putting my head above the parapet a little here but it breaks my heart to see how my friends who have struggled to build up independent businesses and careers as label owners and producers are falling by the wayside. We're not talking about Mercedes we're talking about struggling to subsist. As I said, this isn't really about me - I'm one of the lucky few making a living. But its almost impossible to make a living as an artist now without DJing or doing something else. And its no good saying well other people have menial / badly paid jobs too. I don't doubt that; but I always pay people for the services and the work they do on my behalf. I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm just asking for fair treatment.
This is obviously a much bigger issue than just blogs, and I don't mean to beat on genuine music fans. I just wanted to put another perspective; one that I think people are sometimes afraid to voice, because they worry that it will sound like the whingeing of the privileged. That's the implication of Ronan's last paragraph and it's one that I absolutely refute. There is an ethical issue here and people are in serious amounts of denial about it. Anyway, preachy bit over. I will get back to being jolly about new records soon, I promise. But there will never be a download link on this blog. Never ever.
xx ewan"