Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

I’m working on a critical research paper for my Media Studies class on criminality and the media. I’ve settled on looking into the illegal availability of music on the internet and its effect on the industry and the consumer. I’m not asking you to do my work for me, but I need some primary research. I thought this’d be an efficient way to get the opinions of an intelligent and articulate group of people to whom this issue is probably pretty relevant – most of us are young internet users, and music’s both important readily available to us. It'll be a fun discussion, anyway.

If you do download your music illegally, that’s your business, and it’s quite fair that you might not want to own up to it here. But try and be a bit objective about this – please don’t just try and justify what you do. I’m hoping to send out a few surveys via PM to get some anonymous feedback in which people can hopefully be a bit more open about what’s a bit of a touchy subject, so if you’re interested in answering a few questions about this, just let me know. And if you don't, I’ll just bug you in chat.

So, what’re your thoughts on the effect of the illegal distribution of music online? Try and focus on how it affects the music industry and our current ‘musical climate’ – record sales have dropped in recent years, but has it had a positive effect on the consumer and on the status of popular music? For example, the word-of-mouth promotion on internet forums that the illegal availability of music promotes could be considered a positive. To give a quick example, Arcade Fire – their debut, Funeral, reached somewhere in the 100’s in the US Billboard Charts. Their follow-up, Neon Bible, entered the charts at #2 despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that it leaked some months prior to its release. The hype surrounding the album was almost exclusively generated on the internet; on forums, in music blogs. It’s clear that the illegal availability of music serves as a promotional tool, but it seems to promote albums and artists the consumer is genuinely interested in, as opposed to those that bring a lot of money to the record labels. How about iTunes? Do you think it’s a good alternative to illegal downloading? There’s a lot more too it than the ‘promotion’ thing, of course, but it’s a good example.

I’m of the opinion that it’s a double-edged sword, for sure. There are positives and negatives, but, in your opinion, do the negatives outweigh the positives? And hey, if you’ve got any statistics you want to throw at me to back up your arguments, I wouldn’t say no.

You can of course PM me or grab me in chat.

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Quote (Mimic)

It’s clear that the illegal availability of music serves as a promotional tool, but it seems to promote albums and artists the consumer is genuinely interested in, as opposed to those that bring a lot of money to the record labels.

I think in this respect it does something that the internet generally does very well--it equalizes the playing field (toward a meritocracy or a "taste-ocracy"), and gives consumers more choice. It can definitely be used very effectively as a promotional tool--especially for artists who have yet to make a big name for themselves.

(I have no clue about industry statistics, but I would guess that a lot of these rising stars are either waiting to be gobbled up by a large media company or (especially these days) directly competing against such large media companies. In this light, I would even more strongly support these rising stars--at least as long as they don't get eaten while looking for treasure.)

There are some people--myself included--who feel that it's the right thing to do to actually do business with artists whom we consider good. If I find good music, I might actually be inclined to honor its musician by buying recordings of it. But if I haven't heard it before, how do I know it's good? Downloading from the internet provides a very good means of quality-based selection (furthering my point above about the concept of the internet creating a meritocracy).

And besides, it's actually pretty awesome to own an official hard copy of music you like. Really. MP3s might get you the music, but not something you can tangibly hold onto, not something you really feel like you have.

For example, consider Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: I first heard about CvSotN concerning its music, and how it was so extraordinary and incredible. Some downloads later, its soundtrack led me to the game itself, which I downloaded. I played it, and loved it, and--not primarily because I felt a moral duty to honor Konami or Michiru Yamane, but primarily because it'd be so awesome to own, for myself, a gem of gaming history, and to be able to play it on a real Playstation--I bought a copy of CvSotN. I've enjoyed having the game since.

(To anyone who wonders, I'm still looking for the soundtrack. Part of this is complicated by the fact that I only recently got my own credit card, and its statements are mailed to my home address because my parents prefer it that way. Sheesh, the soundtrack's only $16 or so, not much more than a typical CD.)

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

I'd be happy to take a survey for you.

--------------------

Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Sure I'll do it. Just send the PM.

--------------------

this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

I'm in, Lolliot.

--------------------

If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I'd be happy to take a survey. PM or E-mail me, whichever is easier.

And no, by the way, I don't download music illegally.

--------------------

Squenix games completed:

FFIII
FFIV
FFVI
FFVII
FFIX
FFX
FF Tactics: Advance 2
Chrono Trigger
Dragon Quest 8
Dragon Quest 11
Super Mario RPG

*poke* I'm in Elliot, PM on.

--------------------

"I fell off the mountain of words at around the 10,000ft mark. Tell my family...they owe me money." -Narratorway

"If you retort against this, so help me God I'll shove any part of your anatomy I can find into some other part. Figuratively, of course." - Josh

"We have more, can deliver tuesday." - Del S

Good old CoN

Sure, Elliot. PM me the survey asap.

PM me or fight me.

Or love me.

--------------------

I find your lack of faith disturbing...

Yeah. PM's open to ya.

--------------------

Arts

Farts

Twarts

I'm in on taking the survey.

--------------------

"Have you ever seen a baby do that before?"

Drunk noqw, bear with me 0n thi s one.

Th e PM surve y was intended as a method by witch to deal with the i sernsitive issu eof download ing music, which peorople migh t not be comfrotable with discu ssing too openly. it's odd, buit id didn;t know if people would be hespecially happy to admiot to downloadin g music on the forums. aklll the same, i will be PMIng the people whi o are interested, but feel free to use this thread to qair your thoguhs on the matter and debate them wiht your fell ow con-goer. No ofrense to those who have already posted, but the pm survwey will deal with more questionable isssues than the thread does.

i apprecia te the inovolvement of anyone wiling to partake i nthe survey, don't rget me wrong, but feel free to use this thread tgo discuss and dibate thee downloading issue i'm trying to raise thx.

i f i don't suck at media stidues, hopefulyl the PMs will play a seperate roles.

thanks u guy s

ROFL at Drunk Elliot posts.

If it's not too late, I'd love to help out and take the survey too.
Sign me up!

--------------------

Okay, but there was a goat!

Ah, I misunderstood you.

Yes, I do download music from the web for various reasons, which mostly boil down to sloth.
I won't bother to buy an entire album if I like one song from it. Also, I download music if it's hard to come by/expensive to ship (KH soundtrack being a good example here).
Also, I daresay it's not robbing the artist as much as robbing the producer (still, some artist are their own producers), since the artist gets paid anyway.
Some people check music on the internet to see if they want to buy albums.
I download music from the net, yes, but nothing beats having the original album IMHO.

If you want to ask anything else go ahead or PM me.

Also, woot for Drunkiot!

This post has been edited by SilverMaduin on 21st April 2007 10:53

--------------------

"I fell off the mountain of words at around the 10,000ft mark. Tell my family...they owe me money." -Narratorway

"If you retort against this, so help me God I'll shove any part of your anatomy I can find into some other part. Figuratively, of course." - Josh

"We have more, can deliver tuesday." - Del S

Good old CoN

Righto, hit me up.

--------------------

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

I'll do it, send one here.

I don't feel I understand 100% of what I'm getting myself into, but sign me up. The survey itself should answer any questions I have.

--------------------

If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry

Yo, hope I'm not late to the party.

--------------------

"We're not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting... fighting was the only thing I was ever good at, but at least I always fought for what I believed in." - Frank Yeager (a.k.a. Grey Fox)

Thanks for your help with this, everyone. I took a practice exam last week, found out today I scored 40/45, which is an A. Just a few of the many things I learnt from the survey:


Legal acquisition of music (since they began downloading) has:
INCREASED: 30%
DECREASED: 30%
STAYED ROUGHLY THE SAME: 40%

CoN-goers download because:
It's efficient: (Want one song, songs strewn across multiple Cds, unable to find in stores) 30%
It's free and easy - why download when I can get it free?: 10%
Expense (he/she is a cheapskate): 30%
Research (downloading music illegally is a way of sampling artists and albums): 30%

70% use P2P networks;
20% FTP networks;
10% solely legal means.

54% of your acquisition of music is illegal. Hooray!

good luck with everything

This post has been edited by Final Fantasy Guru on 10th May 2007 18:28

Mimic:

Could you please correlate these statistics with age? I'm really curious since the breakdown here is rather skewed towards a certain demographic.

Thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by Elessar on 10th May 2007 20:55

--------------------

Visions of Peace - Four Generals, One Empire, and the Returners caught in the middle.

Please survey me. I'd be happy to take it. =]