[Hidden-tech] Re: Music downloads vs happy new year

[Mitch Anthony]

Just a quick note to say this dialog was a delightful last-Saturday- 
of-2006 diversion.

If anyone is so editorially inclined this thread makes a perfectly  
succinct summary of a very complex issue.  (One that the Culture At  
Large does not yet have a consensus answer to.) From the moral  
implications of teaching a child about file-sharing to the actual  
legal ramifications of copying files to the specifics of royalty  
agreements between libraries and publishers this discussion was a  
round-the-issue-in-a-day review.

Thank you to the hidden-tech community for being so smart, so cool  
and so accessible.

Happy new year.


On Dec 30, 2006, at 5:18 PM, mallets at mac.com wrote:

> Another point on cassettes and cds is that the RMA (recording  
> musicans of america) the people who played on the records  
> negotiated a % of all blank Cassetes and Cds sold so when you make  
> copies people are payed. The artists and musicians, (not the POWERS  
> THAT BE to them copying is small change)
> On Dec 30, 2006, at 1:41 PM, Mitch Anthony 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.
>>
>>
>> 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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>>>>>
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