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Re: Downloading Classical Music

Author: Ski
Date: 2007-08-28 21:18

If there were a system where the musicians and the actual recording personel received even a majority of the revenew, then I think I would always buy music without thought of another option.

By "actual recording personnel" do you mean recording engineers?

I would also like to know what is so different from copying a CD, to copying a tape (which most people seem to think is fine) and then why is that such a step to finding something on the internet? Why is buying a new CD for half price from iTunes (which is essentially buying a used file of music, without the cover, case or almost any information about the artists) in perfect morality?

Working backwards... there is no such thing as a "used file of music". It's not like every time a music file is read from a disk and downloaded that it somehow 'wears out'. And that is precisely the difference between making cassette copies and making digital copies... A digital copy is a clone (i.e., exact, bit for bit) of the original source copy. Theoretically, you can make an infinite number of copies from any other copy and all copies will be precisely the same. And this is the primary objection to Internet downloading of music; it allows people to get the product FOR FREE.

The basic problem, though, is not that the digital nature of today's recorded music makes it prone to cloning. It's a social and behavioral problem. People throughout the ages have been known to treat musicians with less than the respect they deserve. It's no different today, where many people -- including some of the people contributing to this thread -- question whether or not a musician should be paid for their work. How bloody out-*&@#*&-rageous is that?

Other people impose some sort of self-serving artificial limit on how much money a recording artist "deserves" to make, using that as an excuse to download music for free, "because they have enough money already."

Now, cassette copies are different. Each time you record something on tape the signal degrades somewhat, regardless of how good the tape and machine might be. So you're not hearing that music in the most ideal state -- the very state that artists, recording engineers, and producers spend untold hours and often hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sound good --- for your pleasure. A cassette copy might be sonically "acceptable" at first but it won't stay that way over time with repeated playing of that tape. And if you make copies from that cassette (i.e., a third generation copy) the fidelity of that copy can be pretty bad. Make a copy of that copy and... see where this goes?

Look, this whole conversation is academic. If you enjoy music and want to listen to it, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. Really now, does that not make sense somehow? Sadly, though, some people out there will continue to look for the lamest of lame-@ss excuses not to pay for other people's hard work and artistry.

Post Edited (2007-08-28 21:24)

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Downloading Classical Music new

Caco185

2007-08-18 00:02