Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Paying for music or not ?


Les
 Share

Recommended Posts

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357410652' post='1922353']
I can't see any reason for downloading in order to check out a band. These days there are plenty of sources where you can legally stream music, that will give you a good enough idea whether or not the music is worth buying.
[/quote]

From my experience, this isn't the case unfortunately. For older songs and bands it's fine, but currently releases (especially from more obscure bands) and new bands I've found never really make much of an appearance until well after various release dates, at least for the type of music I listen to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will always buy the track or album. I`m not comfortable with the idea of downloading music for free when someone, more than likely people with the same dreams and ambitions that some of us hold dear, has put a lot of time and possibly their money into.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1357413086' post='1922398']
Always buy music that I genuinely love, its a basic show of respect for an artist!
If I'm learning a song, Youtube...simples

SI
[/quote]

Pretty much where I'm at I suppose, just debating with my conscience if I should pay for the track that I'm learning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually buy and have Spotify premium as a last resort but I do download freebies on occasion because it is sometimes the only way of accessing obscure jazz recordings that are pre-cd era and which have never appeared (it amounts to about half a dozen lps in mycase although there are others that I am looking to try and get for that same reason). To be fair, though, when I was a kid, we would all be copying stuff onto cassettes etc . I think the main difference then was that, if we really liked it, we would buy the lp because the cassettes were so poor and deteriorated so quickly and there was always the lp covers whcih were part of the deal. A downloaded mp3 nowadays is, in relative terms, just as good as the 'original' download or cd and there is no cover to speak of except the cd sleeves which, frankly, lack the romance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1357413653' post='1922410']
I'm ignorant about this. Is it optional or a legal requirement?
[/quote]
[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1357413807' post='1922415']
I thought it was the venue's responsibility. I might be wrong.
[/quote]

Since I'm a PRS writer member, I always submit a set list for every gig my originals band does. It's fairly quick and simple to do on-line. The money we've earned from the last 2 months of gigging will go quite a long way to meeting the production costs of our next EP.

AFAICS there doesn't appear to be an easy way for covers bands to submit set lists unless one of the band is already a PRS member, which is a shame as it would give them a more accurate picture of what songs are being played live. Currently I believe in these cases it's done by random sampling from either the venue or from PRS employees attending the gigs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1357401157' post='1922135']
Just been thinking about a photo our singer put on facebook saying roughly "Why will people pay £3.50 for a coffee that costs pennies is gone in a few minute etc. etc. but won't pay 99p for a song ?". Some of you may have seen it doing the rounds.

I have no problem buying my music but I have to admit if I have to learn a cover song, for my band, that there is no way in the world I would want to buy it for my own listening pleasure I generally download it for nothing, learn it then forget about it, and it just sits on my laptop forever and never gets played again.

What's everyone else's take on this ?

Should I buy it ? Can't really make my mind up on this.
[/quote]

Buy the bloody songs! Support the artists you imitate (in order to make [i]yourself[/i] some money) by paying them too. If you don't dig the songs that is no excuse for not paying for them. Maybe you should join a band who plays songs you enjoy.

As for the coffee / music thing, it's just another dumb sh*t analogy on the internet that doesn't make any sense when you look beyond the obvious, which clearly a lot of people don't, or can't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BigRedX , forgive me if I've read your post wrong but are you saying the PRS pay you some royalty or whatever if you perform a song of your own at a gig ? Or was the money you mention earning fee's from the venue ?


Silddx, fair enough mate, It's other peoples opinions I'm after.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1357414034' post='1922418']
I can only once remember being asked to write out our set list out for the PRS, and that was in [b]Anglesey[/b] many,many, years ago.
[/quote]

Yes, we stick to the rules round here ;)

I submit all our live gigs to PRS once a year (we only play about 30 gigs a year).
The payment isn't much for us, (about £7 a gig for pubs I think).
They have a separate scheme for big venues and festivals - it's a lot more dosh then.
I play in an all originals band, so no cover versions to buy or steal for me .
If anyone wants to cover any of our songs, you can have them free - just remember to report to PRS when you play them :)

Back on topic - do what feels right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i try to buy music where possible, but i prefer the phyiscal cd, not an mp3 download, which often means unless i want to wait for it for several days, driving to the nearest hmv.. an hour away and paying at least a 5er more than is needed.

ive got spotify too so i can listen to that through my iphone, so in most cases i can try before i buy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well (not arguing)....
1. I didn't play back in those days (even though, yes, I'm old enough)
2. It's not quite the same as do you knowingly download something for free rather than press the "buy it now" button.

FWIW... I'll argue more than anybody that the crap being given to people for downloading a couple of songs is disproportionate but songs don't cost much online anymore and at least some of it hopefully finds its way back to the artist.

Edited by thepurpleblob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your opinions. I wish I could feel black or white about this but I can't. There are going to be some scenario's that I'm not going to buy the song, but I can see me buying more than I do at the moment with regards to the band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty black and white on this one. Want a peice of music - Pay for it. Want a piece of music so you can learn it - Pay for it. Whether you agree with the way the system works or not is irrelevant. If you want people to keep making music - Pay for it.

It's not just musicians who suffer. Sound engineers, producers and loads of others are getting royally screwed by the illegal download market. Some of these people are essential in making sure music is produced to the highest standards. If you argue that the standard of any part of the industry isn't high enough these days and you download illegally you need to ask why corners are now being cut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1357423067' post='1922579']
loads of others are getting royally screwed by the illegal download market.
[/quote]

Totally agree, I just don't fancy spending 4 quid cos' the singer wants to have a go at Hysteria a semi tone down even though we've told him the problems with that. And yes I know I could take another bass detuned for that one song but then I'd have to download [b]everything[/b] illegally to pay for my other bass. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1357424017' post='1922599']
Totally agree, I just don't fancy spending 4 quid cos' the singer wants to have a go at Hysteria a semi tone down even though we've told him the problems with that. And yes I know I could take another bass detuned for that one song but then I'd have to download [b]everything[/b] illegally to pay for my other bass. :D
[/quote]
I don't like paying for the fuel to do a trip to the in laws just cos my wife wants to go but I wouldn't steal it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something I've noticed in this thread is the apparent guilt about paying for a Spotify Premium account. And I include myself in this. So, I pay £10 a month for premium account. Not a small wedge but good value in my opinion. Yet I feel some guilt that I'm not paying £10 for one album that the artist gets some royalties from. Yes they do get some money from Spotify but it's a very small, insignificant amount from what I've read and been told (from a musicians union guy).

There are arguments that it's mainly about promoting the band. In the US, artists don't get paid royalties for being played on commercial radio stations (in the UK they do) as it's seen as a promotional tool. Spotify can be seen as the same. However, if I hear a song on the radio and really like it, I'll have to go and buy the album. The chances of me tuning in to hear that song, the album, or a series of songs like it, are very very slim. So buying the album is the best way forward. So radio works as a promotional tool in this scenario. Now, if I hear a song on Spotify radio (try it, it's brilliant for introducing you to new music) I'll add that artist to my New Music playlist and will listen to them more, and also listen to artists like them. However they've missed out on an album sale as I'll listen to their music on Spotify.

So, I love music, and want to support artists. Spotify gives me the ability to find and listen to more artists than I ever would have been able to before, and all for £10 a month. But I don't get to buy one album a month (i.e. same monthly cost to me) that will benefit an artist more than the royalties from Spotify.

So that's my dilemma, and also the dilemma of others if I've picked up sentiments from replies to this topic correctly. Spotify, even the very legal paid-for version is still seen in a similar light as downloading music illegally. It seems to be seen as dirty sin. Why is this?! It's 100% legal, but as recent large corporation tax scams have shown us, 100% legal does not equal even 1% morally correct.

I love the Spotify model from the consumer point of view. It's what the music industry should have come up with itself 10 years ago if it wasn't so intent on suing its own customers and clinging on to a dying commercial model. But it still seems like I'm doing artists out of album sales.

So, sorry to derail the OPs question a little (and to me, I echo the comments about why this has to be asked on a musicians forum ffs.) but even the legal channels seem to not sit 100% comfortably with musicians.

Edited by Mornats
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...