Does it ever seem funny that we pay for music?

penguinofwar · 03-08-2011, 11:16 AM

I was just thinking about this today. The other day I bought a Death Cab for Cutie CD for almost nothing at a closeout sale. There were some songs I had never heard and they were really good. I was thinking, how much would I have actually paid for this now that I know how good it is? 30, 40 bucks? Like, how much would you pay just to be able to "listen" to something? And at the same time, say you really wanted to hear to a song but you didn't have the money to listen to it? Not that I have all the money to buy all the music in the world that I want, but think about it. The idea just sounds weird. Basically, I decided that when you hear music that is truly appealing to you, its invaluable to you. It seems weird paying for something that's so invaluable, yet you are paying for something just because it appeals to your sense of hearing. I hear noises all day, but that, I'll pay to hear that come out of speakers because its so awesome.

Anyway...thats my interesting/weird thought of the day.

Napoleon17 · 03-08-2011, 11:32 AM

That's why I don't pay for music. I don't illegally download (anymore) so I just use Pandora or listen to the radio. It's not that valuable to me. If I were richer, I would pay more for the convenience of being able to have an iPod and a large iTunes collection, but I'm poor and the radio is free.

jthomas1600 · 03-08-2011, 01:46 PM

I commented in my journal recently how hard it is for me to pull the trigger on itunes. It's just a buck right? It's really hard for me. But lately I've been working out and walking with head phones on a lot. When you listen to music several hours a day everyday, it only takes a few days and what you thought was a fairly good collection of music is actually not very much. I love bargain bins though. When I was home last I bought an Anthrax and a Corrosion of Conformity CD. Like $4 a piece and I like all the songs on them so that's way cheaper than itunes...less than $0.50 per song.

The service is not available to me here, but when I'm home I love slacker radio. It's one of the services where you basically pick the bands you want to be played and it's like having all the songs by those bands on ipod shuffle. And it's free. You get a hand full of commercials which you can eliminate by paying a subscription, but I'll put up with the commercials to get it free.

Ethan.Bassist. · 03-08-2011, 02:05 PM

Well coming from a musician's standpoint, I'm glad people pay for music. Not that I've put out anything to be purchased, but knowing that that's a possibility is nice. I gladly pay for music. To me it's more than just a 5mb file on my computer, it's the physical cd, the artwork, the liner notes, etc. Without the liner notes/artwork, the music lacks completeness for me. Whenever I listen to an album, I always imagine the artwork and the songs always invoke the same feeling the combination of the sounds and the art give me.

That's why I'm willing to pay money for an album. $10 seems like a great bargain for something that is invaluable.

**Josey Wales** · 03-08-2011, 02:11 PM

well i hate to say it, but i do alot of downloading, i do this because if i'm going to download i don't want to pay for it, like on itunes, but if i like something i will gladly pay for a cd, and a lot of the time i will go and buy a cd after i've downloaded it. and i like the fact that if i pay for something i have something physical in my hands, and electronically downloading something isn't a physical piece, so yeah, now please don't lecture me on downloading, it's what i gotta do when i can't afford music.

but yeah i've been using slacker radio alot more lately, so it has taken away most of my illegal stuff.

Ben Toast · 03-08-2011, 02:21 PM

Pay for music? While I'm still alive?

That's what the Internet is for!
I have no desire to waste my money on music.
[mod edit]
Anyone who has 10,000 songs on their iPod, claiming to have purchased all of it, is most likely lying.
Heck, I have.. let me check.. 1968 songs in my iTunes right now. I purchased none of it. But at, averaging $1 per song.. There's no way I'd spend $1,968 on music. Not a chance.

I'm not going to try justifying myself, nor will I try feeding you some "if I like it I'll buy it" garbage. Yes, I understand some people actually do buy it later.. but I don't.. If I download it, I already have it.. so why bother? If I like a song, I will download the entire album. Ironically enough, all I download is Christian music. Any other music just leaves me feeling "bleh."

jthomas1600 · 03-08-2011, 02:33 PM

So the only music you'll pirate (some might say steal) is Christian music? Kind of ironic don't you think? Of course each to their own man.

**Josey Wales** · 03-08-2011, 02:45 PM

i pirate everything i don't discriminate, unless it's rap, i won't touch it, you couldn't pay me to download it.

normajean777 · 03-08-2011, 02:53 PM

I've downloaded a lot of stuff in the past few years. If I like the band I go to their shows, and purchase their band shirts. I have like 80-100 band shirts which definitely are not representative of what my library looks like, but it is representative of who I am willing to support financially.

**DaGeek** · 03-08-2011, 03:04 PM

Hey guys, this isn't a debate about the legal or ethical nature of downloading music. If that's desired, please create another thread in the appropriate forum. Nothing wrong's been said so far, and I'd be happy to move it if you all would like, but let's try to keep this on-topic. Thanks.

penguinofwar · 03-08-2011, 05:41 PM

Disliking paying for music didn't have anything to do with why I made this thread, FYI. And I think a lot of you guys really missed the point. And I'm not sure if I can really re explain it...

**DaGeek** · 03-08-2011, 08:50 PM

Thread split.

OP, it may help to clarify again your original intention of this thread here so discussion can continue

. All piracy and the like discussions, please head over to the other new thread!

Ethan.Bassist. · 03-08-2011, 08:55 PM

Um to the OP's original post.

...What you're saying reminds me of when Radiohead did that thing where they charged whatever you felt the album was worth. Some people probably didn't pay, some probably paid $30 or $40.
Now that you say it, it is funny that in general, a song is worth $.99 nowadays. Any song, whether you love it or hate it. There are some albums that I would've paid 2x the going rate if I had to. I'm not one to pay more if a cheaper option is available, but if the cheaper one isn't available, I would definitely pay more for some albums I own.
I'm kind of working on acquiring the albums I got from a friend a while back. I have pretty much the entire Sigur Rós discography that I need to start purchasing and re-ripping. Because they're worth it.

bobthecockroach · 03-09-2011, 08:02 AM

It is no more funny than paying for any other type of art. Artists deserve compensation just like anyone else. That we value intangible things as well as tangible things is part of what makes us human. Paying for intangible value makes just as much sense as paying for tangible value.

**Josey Wales** · 03-10-2011, 08:21 AM

ok, well here's a real response that doesn't belong in the ethics thread..

my friend bill is in a band, they do not charge for anything, shows, cds, merch... he told me music is a gift from god and should be shared, i said yes bill i agree but what do you do for money, he said work a job, i fired back with (using the ultimate, of having a successful band that records, and tours and stuff) i said bill how am i supposed to have a decent band that travels, even to the local dive bars, all the way to nationally, and hold down a full time job to support my family, if i'm a musician, and that is what i do, thats all i'm gonna do. i will need a paycheck to support my family, and myself, so i will charge for music, cds, merch, shows ect. he said well then you're not glorifying god. at this point our conversation turned into a huge glorification of god debate,

but from this story, i can tell you that i don't mind paying the money because it supports the artist's living. even if the record companies get most of the money from cd sales, the number of cd sales tells the companies this artist is good, and should make more, and do tours and stuff.