""I illegally download albums but I support the artist by going to shows""
This has to be the most bullshit excuse of our time. Look at how many people illegally download albums. If that many people were going to concerts there would be riots in the parking lots of venues with the tons of people who couldnt get a ticket.
"Capitalism will never fail because socialism will always be there to bail it out." - Ralph Nader
im consistently on the side of the consumer in this endless debate. cos apparently none of the coin we drop on music or gigs or ANYthing seems to wind up in the hands of the artists. and it seems to be mostly due to the system being rigged in favour of syphoning the lions share of the profits (from any and all profit streams) into the hands of suits than to artists.
imsayn, at what point can we just accept and LIVE with the fact everyone, EVERYone, downloads music. everyone. its a standard fact of life at this point.
and at what point do artists themselves take responsibility for being under the thumb of said suits? and at what point does the consumer stop getting the finger pointed at them for whatever ills have befallen said artist?
duno. this argument, the rationale, the impetus of the OP...have and never will sit right with me.
27. "yepyep. wasnt just aimed at u btw" In response to Reply # 26
i mean on a smaller scale bootlegging would have greater impact. but if it's "inflicted" on larger label artists under the boot and heel of suits and execs and mafiosos and the like, then ye...i feel no real sympathy for the artists who put themselves and their music and their art in the hands of monsters and devils instead of taking charge of their own sheit.
25. "i mean, these days things have kind of leveled out" In response to Reply # 23
by now album sales are such a damn near extinct thing at this point that artists are instead getting shows booked on things like press coverage, YouTube plays, FB likes, Soundcloud plays, etc. usually before they even have a proper retail album out anyway
but all of this is in the wake of years of the original post's thesis not working, so labels pretty much just gave up on selling albums as a whole until the artists had already built up a loyal enough following, & now at this point physical copies are seen more as mementos or tour merch than anything else
i'm referring mostly to the indie artist here, & of course in generic terms
but when the now defunct "illegal downloading" debate was still relevant 10 years ago, the "i'll just wait till they tour in my town" logic usually led to hundreds of MySpace comments of "hey how come you never come to Denver!" the answer being... because no one in Denver (etc.) ever bought their album
4. "They kind of are though" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Apr-30-13 05:04 PM by BigReg
>This has to be the most bullshit excuse of our time. Look at >how many people illegally download albums. If that many people >were going to concerts there would be riots in the parking >lots of venues with the tons of people who couldnt get a >ticket.
There's been a very large run of bands playing arenas that wouldn't be playing them twenty years ago.
I don't think it's related to the statement you said above, but imho it's pretty obvious the audience for live music has grown even with the barriers put in place (fucked up ticket prices).
-DJ R-Tistic- Member since Nov 06th 2008 51986 posts
Tue Apr-30-13 10:21 PM
6. "It's not about affording, it's all about convenience." In response to Reply # 5
If everybody knew how to sneak into Staples without buying tickets, they'd do that for sure for sure. And say "I support the artist by being in the crowd which leads to him getting bigger shows and more money"
7. "a great show >>>>>>>>> an itunes download" In response to Reply # 6
nothing can beat the experience of seeing music live with a bunch of people, it's why ticket sales havent suffered and the whole "kids don't like music as much these days" argument is bullshit
------------------------------- If life is stupendous one cannot also demand that it should be easy. - Robert Musil
Ashley Ayers Member since Dec 12th 2009 12331 posts
Tue Apr-30-13 11:56 PM
9. "But don't you say that because you have the download?" In response to Reply # 7
Sure the show is awesome, but it happens and it's over. Now you can go home and put the download on repeat... or you were inspired to check the show out because you already had the download on repeat... the download you didn't have to pay for, btw...
Therefore, you say the show is more valuable because the download is free.
The album is pretty valuable though, because you can listen to it whenever you want
And never go to shows. What does that mean? Recently it has become more convenient to buy music than to download iilegally. I only download iilegal if I just can't wait for the release, and I still purchase when it comes out. It seems like a tiny fee for how much I'm gonna use it.
Beyonce is going on tour this summer and charging an average of 100 per seat... every concert now has VIP packages with all kinds of shit... they bank off that, if 100,000 dl your album who cares...
What people forget about dl'ing music, just cause I DL it for free, does not mean I would buy it if it was not available via DL... It ultimately gets your music out to more listeners
17. "albums are just commercials for the showcase" In response to Reply # 0
Record labels and iTunes get paid off the artists work and don't deserve shit really.
Nothing new.
Artists set themselves back by fucking with record labels anyway.
You know what would happen if artists boycotted AEG and Live Nation and only performed at college owned arenas or independent spots...I'm talking every genre of music
Staples would have to find some other source of revenue and they would try to work out something.
You can't have integrity and be a part of the machine.
Why else do they rush to make any goofy nigga a star nowadays, because they need people who will look to them as saviors.
If 2,000,000 illegally download your shit, then you have potentially 2,000,000 fans
You're not going to sell 2,000,000 albums when for the for most part, your shit lacks substance and is just being rushed out to make a quick buck.
If you have quality music or if you are the biggest fad you can have a fanbase, but all that album and downloading shit is just a commercial to the live experience you present.
Mint Condition live is one of the best shows you can see, I only bought one tape they made and see them live every chance I can.
The consumer controls where they spend their money
It's my dollar you want, not the other way around, so I have the leverage in any situation.
You give me options in different ways to hear what you have to perform but I don't HAVE to buy shit.
Fuck you getting mad that I don't want to buy your album if it's not quality for me to spend my money on.
22. "I support artists more through shows and merch than CDs" In response to Reply # 0
I'm not gonna act like that justifies me not paying for their album but I'm a lot more likely to buy a ticket than an album. And if I really like the show, there's a chance I'll buy the album before I leave the venue.
I'm curious how revenue from touring works for independent artists. I know the major labels have their hands in every pocket they can these days but what about the artists who aren't on a label or are on a small label? How much of my dollar goes into their pocket?
Dj Joey Joe Member since Sep 01st 2007 13770 posts
Wed May-01-13 05:54 PM
24. "Everyone Who Downloads Doesn't Even Like What They're D.L.ing" In response to Reply # 0
>If that many people were going to concerts there >would be riots in the parking lots of venues with >the tons of people who couldn't get a ticket.
I could understand if even half the people who download paid to go to a show of the artists they downloaded an album or songs from but that isn't the case; I've noticed that people who download half the time download just cause it's free (mostly cause artists are giving out more free EPs and mixtape albums more than usual lately) and sometimes never open/unzip the file or listen to it, it becomes a habit to download first, have it, and listen to it later just in case they do want to hear that artist's music.
Not many people listen before downloading, if they don't like it they can just delete it, which means yes they downloaded the album but didn't like it so it wasn't support but it counts as being seen that way.
Basically I'm saying that we got to stop thinking that every legal or illegal download is a fan of that artist, or they like the music, or that they are willing to buy a ticket to see that artist perform live; I'm one of those people who love lots of music and do pay and download music but it's only 1 to 5 percent of them I actually want to see do a live show.
--------- "We in here talking about later career Prince records & your fool ass is cruising around in a time machine trying to collect props for a couple of sociopathic degenerates" - s.blak
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson
