Would you go into a record store and steal a CD If you knew?

Question

that there was only 2% chance you would get caught?
If no why not ?
Its the same as down loading and burning music?
Theft is Theft

I my self am a contracted song writer and it PI$S'S me off when people steal music as I dont get my royalties and with one of my songs that I have recorded is soon to re-least . The first of me singing it brings on some very strong emotions,
My uncle was a very well know musician in the 70s so I know the importance of paying for what you want

Answer 1

People don't view an electronic file transfer the same way as stealing a solid object. People also have warped views that make them think that a new band is as rich as the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen and others just get a thrill out of taking something that wasn't theirs. Others are just cheap.

I would rather support the bands that have given me back their art in return (I'm sure someone is rolling their eyes reading this). I also know that without record sales there will be no more new music by that artist because a label is not going to support a band that has minimal sales.

Downloaded music sounds like garbage anyways. Listening to 128kbps files pumped through lousy little earbuds is not my idea of enjoying music but, then again, listening to a CD on a crappy bose system isn't either.

Answer 2

Wrong. When I download music it is 100% of the time either music I intend to buy or music that they don't issue anymore by a band that released very little material anyways. In which case it's more like advertising (I never download an entire album so that I haven't heard it all already when I buy it), and companies pay for advertising. So they ought to be paying the people I download from.

And even people who don't buy what they download I don't think equates to stealing the whole CD. The record country needs to adapt. I can download prints of famous paintings, I can download pictures of people, I can look up any information I want, hell I can even watch full episodes of shows on NBC's website. Music is just another art form and if it can be reproduced then people will share it like they do with every other reproduceable media.

The funny thing is record company fat cats are the ones you hear complaining much more often than the bands themselves.

Answer 3

Like another poster said you're just trying to justify the fact that you nothing but a common thief Most bands are struggling to just pay their bills there are just a few high paid celebs, the rest are barely making it, trying to pay their bills. touring is very expensive these days, if you aren't a top 10 act, I know of several great musicians, that have had to QUIT, because they couldn't make enough touring pay the bills. Bands should not HAVE to tour, just pay the thousand$ and hundred$ of thousand$ it cost$ to record, a lot of bands don't tour as much, it's hard work, living on the road, you have no life, why should they HAVE to tour for 10 months, just to support your habit of stealing. Touring doesn't pay all the others involved in the recording process. The producers, The Engineers, the backup sings studio musicians the mixers the masterers They all wrked for months too, and don't get paid from the tour. If you want music to be free, YOU spend hundreds of hours writing, recording, mixing producing, engineering, remastering, doing all the work, then spend all the money recording etc, an YOU give away it away for free? your "rant" is flawed, do YOU work for free for months?

Answer 4

Actually, it's not entirely the same, as the record store bought the CD from the distributer, thus more money changed hands, and more people stand to lose.

Also, I used to be very against illegally downloading music, and still am, somewhat, but... The fact is, the music industry is changing, and everyone needs to adapt. As CD sales are going down, song licensing is going up, and artists make way more money off that than CD sales (and less overhead, at that). The inbetween phase right now is very unfortunate for many artists, but once the shift is complete... I mean, even many cheap/free download and streaming sites now have advertising, and a share of that money goes to labels/rights holders and, in turn, to the artists. The system still has a lot of flaws, but it's getting there.

That said... I actually did once steal a couple CDs from the Library. Yeah... I know, I know. But according to the cards, no one had checked them out in a long time (one no one had checked out in nearly 4 years)... so I decided it was my duty to make sure they got listened to and were given a good home.

EDIT:

Dear Satan,

The music industry changes. Honestly, it's not any worse now than it was in the 70s. It's on a decline from its height in the 80s and 90s, but it's actually better off now than it was in the 70s.

Likewise, musicians are, more and more, being paid for their overall demand. Record sales are becoming insignificant, as that's not where most of the money comes from. Musicians are essentially starting to do work on commission, as painters/sculptors historically have. If there's a high demand for you and you're really popular, then you have a high advertising pull... and you get paid a lot. If you don't, then you don't get paid anything.

The money's still being distributed as it always was, just in different ways. There are many half-assed artists releasing albums now (self-recorded, self-released) who never would have been able to do so 30 or 40 years ago. So the fact that they aren't making any money is moot, because 30 or 40 years ago, they wouldn't even have a product to make money off of. So what's the difference? The market is currently flooded with thousands of bedroom singer-songwriters and mom's basement bands, and very few of them are making any money. Yeah. But they shouldn't be making music, anyway. In the heyday, they wouldn't have been able to record and release their own music (the resources just weren't there)... so the fact that they can't sell it now is, frankly, understandable and makes sense.

In the end, it may be good. It takes the emphasis off of record sales. Artists don't need to sell lots of records (or any records, for that matter) to make lots of money or be famous. Likewise, just because someone sells a lot of records doesn't mean they're "famous". Because it depends on the audience, and there are different ways to make money. Everytime an artist's song is on a commercial, or streamed on AOL or Yahoo music or downloaded on Napster (who pay to license an album, a song, an entire catalogue),etc, etc, etc... the artist makes money.

If you aren't making money, then there's no demand for you... so people wouldn't be buying your records, anyway. This is the current shift in the industry... and while it's not completely there yet, it's getting close.

Answer 5

Are you a pundit for the music industry?


The problem is, no one thinks of downloading a song as theft. In fact, up until recently, it wasn't even considered theft. Now, most places you download from you have to pay a fee. Napster doesn't exist the way it used to.

Answer 6

Would you go to a friends house and copy stuff on an ipod or burn a cd of music to share?

theft

Answer 7

I wouldn't steal CDs from the bands that I like because it's wrong to steal their music, but I would steal CDs from bands that I hate to burn them (not on my computer, but with fire) to show my hatred towards them

Answer 8

Most people have to pay a fee to download the music, to the company they use to download it from. If you do not pay their fee they will prevent you from downloading. Does this affect you personally? Didn't Southpark do a show about Metallica throwing a fit about downloading music? What's your rant? People are going to do it whether or not you care.

Answer 9

No,it's still stealing from someone. Then again,I wouldn't download inferior MP3 music either

Answer 10

I wouldn't steal anything because it would be easier to buy the damn thing. Plus i could still keep my job and my record clean. But if you like, go ahead and steal it if you want. It's your *** not mine. lol ^_^