[Hidden-tech] Music downloads vs cassette

[Mitch Anthony]

Great point about the difference between downloads and cassette copying.

I am a serious collector of music. (3000 vinyl albums, as many cds  
and 500 gigs of mp3s.  Back in the day I was a serious maker of mix  
tapes. Today I'm a serious maker of compilations.

But here's the difference: back when we copied from vinyl (great  
fidelity) to tape (lousy fidelity and a lot of background noise) we  
were stepping down in fidelity.  The result?  Study after study  
showed that tapers and tape sharers bought more records and CDs than  
anyone else.  During that time sales of records (then CDs) grew year  
after year.  Because if I heard a song on tape I liked I wanted it  
for my collection.  But I wanted it in the best quality format  
available,  and that wasn't tape. So I'd here it on tape then go buy  
the record.

But with mp3s there is NO loss of quality as you "share" (save the  
loss suffered when converted to mp3 the first time, but most stereo  
systems aren't good enough to detect the difference). The result is  
obvious.  If you share an mp3 with me and I want it, I've got it.  I  
have no incentive to buy it. Hence the decline of Cd sales year after  
year.

No easy answers here, but I agree with Mr. Mallet.mac.  The artist  
must be considered when trading digital files.

P.S.  The record industry is another story.  They are getting their  
own after decades of unfair and exploitive business practices.




On Dec 30, 2006, at 12:46 PM, Kelley Slater wrote:

> gee I am beginning to feel a bit guilty here for recommending  
> limewire. Way back when, before file sharing upset the powers that  
> be,(and cold hard cash was such a motivator) kids would make  
> cassettes, does any one remember ever seeing a dual cassette player  
> in the 70's or 80's?? Now that I see all the forwards from hidden  
> tech users stating that file sharing sends a 'bad message' I am  
> wondering, as I sat as a youth recording songs from the radio, were  
> my parents considered sending a bad message?And what about the  
> stereo companies, pushing the cassette industry, or for that matter  
> blank VCRs to 'never miss a program again'? Nobody seems to  
> remember those things lately.
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mitch Anthony"  
> <mitch at element22.com>
> To: "Hidden Tech" <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
> Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2006 9:46 AM
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Music downloads
>
>
>>   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>>   ** You too can help the group
>>   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>> I agree that it sends a bad message to a kid that "music is  
>> free".   In our house my daughter set up an ITunes account using  
>> my credit  card which we reconcile against her allowance.  It's  
>> been fascinating  watching the growth of her very judiciously  
>> selected collection.
>>
>> Another great option is emusic.com.  This subscription service   
>> charges $10 a month for up to 40 song downloads.  Not only is it   
>> much cheaper than ITunes, it also has many more independent and   
>> international artists. And you can sleep at night knowing that   
>> appropriate royalties have been paid to the artists...
>>
>>
>> On Dec 29, 2006, at 8:17 PM, mallets at mac.com wrote:
>>
>>>   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>>>   ** You too can help the group
>>>   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>> Just Pay the 99 cents and let the people who wrote the music   
>>> collect their meager royalty
>>>     stealing intellectual property is not moral
>>> On Dec 29, 2006, at 3:35 PM, DAVID F. FARKAS wrote:
>>>
>>>>   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>>>>   ** You too can help the group
>>>>   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>>>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> My daughter wants to download MP3 songs free (of course) for  
>>>> her  iPod and is Googling like crazy. We found file sharing  
>>>> which feels  like the old Napster debacle and some download  
>>>> sites from old  names like Kaaza.
>>>>
>>>> I'm hoping someone on the list knows which of the many options  
>>>> are  safe and easy.
>>>>
>>>> Thanx.
>>>> Merry Everything and Happy Always
>>>> David
>>>>
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