Copy Kills Music |
GMC Forum > Discussion Boards > VINTAGE GMC > Community Activities and Tutorials > Ask an Instructor > Marcus Siepen|
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May 20 2008, 06:15 PM
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Since some days ago this "downloading/copying" thing was tackled here, I thought I give you guys my point of view on this whole topic, and I would like to hear your opinion on this.
Well, the music industry created this slogan "copy kills music", but is this really true? In my opinion it isn't, the problem is not really copying. Music has always been copied and most likely always will be copied. Back when I started to listen to music me and my friends also copied new albums for each other, the only difference was of course that back then there were no 1:1 copies on cd's, we had to use tapes, so there was a loss in quality. And, unlike today, you had to know somebody if you wanted to check out his albums. Today this is a bit different, in theory it is enough if one person on this planet buys an album, as soon as he uploads it to the internet the rest of the world could have it. But as I said in the beginning, I don't think that copying music is the basic problem, in my opinion the real problem is peoples attitude towards all this, specially towards music itself. Back when I was a kid it was something SO special to go to town and buy a new album. I remember that I went to all the record stores in town every single day when I knew that a new album of one of my fave bands was supposed to be released, until the day when it finally reached the stores. I immediately bought it, went straight home and was not seen anymore for the rest of the day (or the rest of the week). I listened to the album all day long, while getting lost in the lyrics, the cover artwork, the pictures and all those things, I was in a different universe. As I said before, we also copied albums back then, but not to get them for free, for us it was a way of checking them out. If a friend of mine bought an album that I didn't know he gave me a copy so I could check it out myself, and if I liked it I bought a copy for myself, I always wanted to have the original if I liked an album. And this is exactly the point where the problem starts, in my opinion the attitude towards music has changed completely. Today getting a new album is nothing special anymore. Kids don't wait for the release day anymore, they are not excited about this day to come anymore, they get the album weeks (if not months) earlier already, either on the net, or on a dvd filled with thousands of albums, that somebody gives to them in school. Music turned into a kind of fast food, something that is consumed while doing something else, it is not really something special anymore. Those kids get this dvd with tons of mp3's this week, so during the next couple of days they might listen to a few of those songs (most likely on the way to school, with only one earphone in their ears, so they can still talk to their friends at the same time...), and by next week they get a new dvd with another load of mp3's. There is absolutely no chance to listen to all of those songs of course, but they don't really care, it is only about HAVING them all, not listening to them. And of course this attitude leads to this thought of "why should I pay for music when I can have everything for free?" If music is not special for that person anymore, if it is only "consumed" as something secondary, the will to pay vanishes, specially since it is no problem anymore to get any album for free. And of course the world is full of excuses for this, because nobody wants to admit that he/she is doing something wrong or illegal. My fave excuse is "I am not doing anything wrong, I downloaded this album for free, but I would not have bought it anyway, so the band is not losing any money, they would not have got mine anyway"... Well, this is complete bullsh...t!!! If you go to the next music store and just grab an expensive guitar, giving the argument that you would never buy it anyway, you will go straight to jail, because you just stole an expensive instrument, very simple. Illegal downloads are nothing different, you take something that is for sale, but you don't pay for it, sorry, but per definition this is stealing. And of course this is harming every single band that there is on this planet, no matter if we are talking about Blind Guardian, Metallica, Madonna or small newcomers. As I said above, I also traded music with friends, I still do sometimes, but the difference is that I only do it to check out new bands that I don't know yet and that somebody recommends to me. If I like the band, I will go and buy the album, if not, well, I delete the file. As long as people have this attitude, if they are still willing to pay for the music that they like, if they are still willing to support their fave bands, downloading is not that much of a problem, actually it can be a good advertising for a band (I for example talked to many fans of BG that got to know about us by downloading some of our songs), but if somebody comes to me, telling me that he is our biggest fan, that we are the greatest band in the universe, and then he askes me to sign his whole BG collection, which consists of one dvd full of copied mp3's... well, sorry, there is something wrong (and yes, this actually happened in exactly this way!). But anway, I think I babbled enough for now and I would like to hear your opinions on this, so this topic is open for discussion now 
This post has been edited by Marcus Siepen: May 20 2008, 06:42 PM -------------------- Guitars: various Gibson Les Pauls / Gibson J 45
Amps: Mesa Boogie Tripple Rectifier / Triaxis / 2:90 Poweramp / Rectocabs Effects: Rocktron Intellifex / Rocktron Xpression Homepage: www.marcussiepen.com www.blind-guardian.com Check out my video lessons! |
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May 20 2008, 06:45 PM
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Thanks for your opinions guys, good to hear I am not all alone in this
-------------------- Guitars: various Gibson Les Pauls / Gibson J 45
Amps: Mesa Boogie Tripple Rectifier / Triaxis / 2:90 Poweramp / Rectocabs Effects: Rocktron Intellifex / Rocktron Xpression Homepage: www.marcussiepen.com www.blind-guardian.com Check out my video lessons! |
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May 20 2008, 07:20 PM
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@ Mark: First of all, don't worry about posting in English, your English is perfectly fine. About music becoming fast food, of course I can't say that YOU are consuming music like that, I am fully aware that there are people that still respect music and really enjoy getting lost in it, but fact is that the majority of kids today is different, unfortunately.
About this money aspect, unfortunately you are seeing this a bit one sided. You have no money to buy all the cd's that you want to listen too, that is why you just download them, and you say that for people like me it would be much easier because we have the money. Well, guess what, if everybody has this attitude I don't earn a single cent in my job, because my band won't sell any cd's anymore. I would not only not be able to buy cd's myself anymore, I would also not be able to buy food, pay my rent or continue being a musician, because what can you do if your job doesn't make you any money? Can you continue in that job then? The problem is what Javari already said, the perception of value. An mp3 file downloaded from the net seems to be something rather virtual, so people don't really worry about downloading them illegally. But is there any difference between taking musik without paying or taking anything else in a shop without paying? As I said before, if you go to a shop, take something (no matter if it is a cd, a bottle of water, a book or whatever else) and leave the shop without paying, you steal something, if you are caught you are in trouble. And the argument that you have no money but wanted to have this thing that you just stole wont help you much. If you download music without paying you are stealing from the band that created those songs, after all recording an album costs a lot of money, money that the band has to spend, and if nobody buys albums anymore, how are bands supposed to continue writing and recording music? This post has been edited by Marcus Siepen: May 20 2008, 07:25 PM -------------------- Guitars: various Gibson Les Pauls / Gibson J 45
Amps: Mesa Boogie Tripple Rectifier / Triaxis / 2:90 Poweramp / Rectocabs Effects: Rocktron Intellifex / Rocktron Xpression Homepage: www.marcussiepen.com www.blind-guardian.com Check out my video lessons! |
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May 20 2008, 07:35 PM
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QUOTE (fatb0t @ May 20 2008, 08:25 PM)  Marcus don't bands make most of their money from merch and concerts? I figured the corporations gutted most of the profits from CD sales... Nowadays it is like this, yes, because the record sales are going more and more down, not because the corporations would profit too much. In the early days you went on tour to promote your new album, today you release an album to promote your tour. The consequence of all this is that merch and concert tickets are getting more and more expensive because many bands try to cover up for the money loss that comes with album sales. When I have seen Maiden (just to pick one random example) for the first time back in the 80's the ticket price was 28,- DM, which is around 14 Euros, and I paid 12 DM (6 Euros) for a tour-shirt...now go to one of their shows today and compare the prices... -------------------- Guitars: various Gibson Les Pauls / Gibson J 45
Amps: Mesa Boogie Tripple Rectifier / Triaxis / 2:90 Poweramp / Rectocabs Effects: Rocktron Intellifex / Rocktron Xpression Homepage: www.marcussiepen.com www.blind-guardian.com Check out my video lessons! |
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May 20 2008, 07:59 PM
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For sure the internet offer great opportunities too, as I said it can be a great way to advertise your band, and I am a big fan of online shops myself, I love the fact that I can buy music in Itunes 24/7, no matter where I might be on this planet, this is for sure a great thing. The internet itself is not to be blamed, the music industry didn't take it serious for much too long, it failed to see the potential of the internet, thats why record companies have so many problems now. I am really curious to see how the business will be like in 5-10 years, will there still be record companies or will bands only use the net to sell their music online exclusively?
QUOTE (Spreedmaster @ May 20 2008, 08:55 PM) I used do the same all the time when I was younger, but nowadays I Just tend to buy the CD (usually online as the stores round here suck!  ), rip it to windows media player and sync it to my MP3 player and the CD is ust left in a drawer. It really isnt the same anymore, I dont really have the time to appreciate it but I still love to own the actual CD.I also kinda stopped using my cd's, I am a big fan of my iPod, I buy cd's, copy them to my iPod and listen to my music like that, I just love the comfort of havving everything at hand in this little device
-------------------- Guitars: various Gibson Les Pauls / Gibson J 45
Amps: Mesa Boogie Tripple Rectifier / Triaxis / 2:90 Poweramp / Rectocabs Effects: Rocktron Intellifex / Rocktron Xpression Homepage: www.marcussiepen.com www.blind-guardian.com Check out my video lessons! |
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May 20 2008, 08:28 PM
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Awesome topic ^^
I can't claim that I haven't downloaded any music illegaly, since I would be lying. Nowadays though, I've just got my first job, and burned away my entire first paycheck on physical music I've allready downloaded =) It's something different to have the CD on the shelf. It's that wam, fuzzy feeling of listening to the real deal I later rip them onto the PC later and transfer them over to my MP3 player, since I can't go anywhere without music. I have a half hour of sitting on a bus every morning to get to school, so I sit there, half-asleep with my eyes just half-open, watching the scenery pass by (and I live in Norway, so it's great scenery everywhere!), and listen to my favorite songs. It's a great feeling ^^
-------------------- GMC is not just a website... It's a lifestyle!
 https://www.youtube.com/CanisArctus ->Click here for the ultimate practicing tip!<- |
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May 20 2008, 08:35 PM
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I don't think the internet can be controled AT ALL! Any provider that would block those ports would immediately lose a lot of customers, they would just switch to a provider that doesn't block any ports, and trust me, there would always be providers that offer completely unblocked access to the net. I also don't want a controlled internet like that, just as I don't want any copy protection on cd's, that is nonsense in my opinion. Any cd that can be played can also be recorded and copied, period, all those copy protections are crap that only drive more people into downloading. In my opinion there is only one way to go: bands have to deliver quality albums (I am also not interested in spending 15 or 20 Euros on a cd that only has one good song), the music industry has to adept to a completely new system, using the internet with all its benefits, and the fans have to realize about the value of music again.
@ Canis: I know that feeling, this is exactly what I do on tour. I always have my iPod with me, 80 gb filled with my collection
-------------------- Guitars: various Gibson Les Pauls / Gibson J 45
Amps: Mesa Boogie Tripple Rectifier / Triaxis / 2:90 Poweramp / Rectocabs Effects: Rocktron Intellifex / Rocktron Xpression Homepage: www.marcussiepen.com www.blind-guardian.com Check out my video lessons! |
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