Satellite music vs. downloaded music

Yeah, you're missing the free and legal route.

Get an ipod (or an equivalent mp3 player). Get a library card. Check out CD's you want, rip them to your computer and put them on your ipod.

Obviously, this won't help with new-new music, but most big libraries have pretty extensive CD collections.

I reserve the CD's online, pick them up on my way to work, rip them after work and take them back the next day.

Free and legal. The best of both worlds.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what are "bit torrent sites?

 

Last week I rented a car for a drive to Jersey. Car had Sirius, and it was the first time I'd experienced satellite radio. Like 'gola said, it rules harder than than anything has ever ruled. There was a station devoted entirely to Elvis! The NBA has its own station. NFL. MLB. Shit, I even listened to some kind of European talk show for 25 miles. And the myriad techno-house-rave stations are fantastic. Anything you want to hear, you can. There was a station just for sports betting, which might have been the most comical station of them all.

 

Actually, the artists who are screwed the most by the downloading craze are the really big time acts like Metallica, U2, REM, Stones, Prince etc... because they've had so much success that they actually make a lot of money from CD sales...

That's not true at all for newer acts. In their cases almost all of sales goes back to the record company. Artists make the most of their money from touring.

I'm not arguing that there's no effect because obviously, if it's harder for record companies to make money, they're going to sign less bands etc...

I still don't feel that guilty about it...

 

Interesting concept. But then you have to get up and put outside clothes on and drive to the library...

 

I agree. But it'd be nice to control the playlist, order up whatever you want to hear on demand.

 

I love the "outside clothes" locution.

Makes you sound like such a "big boy."

 

I would give up movies, sports, TV and SportsJournalists.com before I gave up my Sirius... I have it on constantly...

 

i've heard that users of piratebay.org have never gotten viruses or spamware

you're not downloading music from a server (I've heard), you're getting it from people who already have it and are sharing it with you through peer sharing using a bit torrent tracker (I've heard)

legal

that said, i won't download anything unless I've bought it once. just my own personal code of ridiculous downloading ethics

 

I was at Best Buy the other day buying a CD for my kids since they're too young for iPods. The kid behind the counter started looking at me funny, probably trying to figure out if I was too old not to know about the bit torrent sites.... He looks at me and says, "You know you can get this for free on the net?"

I just laughed...

 

Doesn't make it legal - it just makes it a hell of a lot harder to trace or shut down.

For a legal option, if you're into indie artists I highly recommend eMusic -- $9.99 for 30 songs a month.

 

Speaking as a musician - go the legal route. Our work is worth as much as yours.

And satellite radio is great. I bought XM for JR (hey, that'd make a cool album title!) last Christmas and can't imagine being without it.