Metal Reviews

I can't control what other people do, nor do I really care. I'm doing things the way I do them because it is what works for me. I would be massively insulted by any stretch to say "I don't support music" when I have bought a massive amount of albums and will continue doing so.



Not even in the same ballpark. I can decide to wait a few months before purchasing it, furthermore, Record companies have been very good at getting promo's in the hands of people months before the album comes out. They expect "leakage" as it helps them promote the album by word of mouth. No one said anything about waiting forever, but I can fully expect certain labels and bands to re-issue it with features that are more attractive the second time. Also, If I buy an album today and 5 years down the line they add a couple songs, what's wrong with downloading the new version to upgrade the existing material. With expensive remastering jobs, I can see buying new cd's (If they are superior, which is rarely the case) but taking on three or four demos of songs that didn't make the album, I don't think I should pay 20 bucks for the same album just for that, I also don't see how it is justified that I spend 5 bucks on this material either through itunes or anything, forget it!




So, what's the problem using someone elses backup if I didn't make one? There is no moral reason that I can't use someone elses copy to make a backup of an album I bought, but damaged. Actually the record companies are required to replace cd's that are damaged due to thier age, not many people know that. That is beside the point, what is the difference if I use copy a or copy b to make a backup, either way, I's entitled to have a copy of what I bought, regardless of the source.



I don't upload anything, because I know it would be abused. I'm not out to aide others in stealing. I'm not against anyone using pirating tactics either if it aids them in buying music. The people that are the problem are the ones who download all thier albums, never buy any of them and take advantage of technology to support thier free lunch. That is not what I do at all.

[/quote]

You can't steal what is not for sale. the artist has already been paid if it is sitting in a used store. The system is going out quietly. People simply are not selling cd's anymore to these used places the way they once were because music in a hard format is not as disposable as it once was, at least not in the metal industry. I always have liked buying CD's and Vinyl, but I'm certainly not going to ignore classic albums that I will likely never be able to get my hands on when no one cares (even these bands, they know they can't make a scent off thier catalog, so they would rather everyone enjoy what they created than it become a relic that is talked about more than heard)

That is the two extremes.

Band A has sold millions
Band B is keeping in business with their sales
Band C will never make a nickel from shit

Band A and Band C will never likely get my money, not because they are failures or successes, but because I want to spend money on Band B, who barely makes a living playing music, I wanna help him with the bills, not the guy who sold 45 million records or the guy that will never see a cent from any of it anyway.

Interesting. How much can these artists make before you arbitrarily decide that they can make no more, then? Do you give the money that doesn't go to band A to charity?

Music sales aren't the only thing capitalism has in its clutch but it is what we are talking about. Once music was a privilege for the upper class too but whatever. There are a lot more bands now than there were musicians then. Another reason people need their ten albums a week.

My entire argument has been about those who illegally download music. Your arguments are circuitous and you live for battling through semantics. The further we progress in this the more unsubstantial your viewpoints become. I was arguing the point on a large scale and you know that. Your personal habits are yours and yours alone.

Good luck.

I think once an album sell 5 million copies, my purchasing it becomes inconseqential.

I generally buy albums by thier rarity. I should have said that. Albums with huge numbers aren't likely to go out of print, so it's easy to ignore them as long as possible.

That is because it is an nsanely difficult issue, it isn't clear cut as it would seem. The RIAA has determined what congress deems legal is grounds for them to investigate, as well, methods that are legal, but entirely the same in spirit as illegal downloading (Rhapsody) no one questions. Fair use laws say you can record the radio. You can use rhapsody, in conjunction with built-in sound card recorders to recoird streams and make your own legal mp3's. It seems to be more about the means rather than the results of how people get music to a lot of people.

umm you can't sample everything in a music store but you generally can sample with the many listening stations available.

I rarely download but when I do, if I like what I'm hearing I purchase it, if I don't it's deleted.


Like you mentioned there was a time when we purchased albums based on one or two singles we heard and liked, but we more than often got screwed than anything else especially after the mid 90's when record labels couldn't give a shit about the quality. All they cared for where sales. When sales dropped because people where downloading illegally those 1 or 2 singles they liked from a crappy album the Labels started to complain and instead of responding by producing better quality music they decided to wage war on technology and the downloaders.
Not that I approve illegal downloading but they sort of had it coming their way....

Ohhh, and BTW, I could sample damn near most of what my local record sotre has, furthermore me and the owner know each others tastes quite well, so even If I can't hear it (and he sells it because it sells well for his niche market) He'll tell me if it's bollocks or not.

Then surely this isn't an issue if you're a metalhead because I can't name very many metal bands who've sold over 5 million copies of any one album, you piece of shit.

Yeah, what an asshole I am for supporting heavy metal music.

Beating a dead horse, but I've yet to pay.

Make good music and people will pay for it. It's as simple as that. Downloaders aren't, and never will, hurt quality music. The RIAA is crying over people not shelling out hard-earned money on their newest, manufactured fads of the week. Sure, the girl who sings "Umbrella" is pleasant to look at, but nobody with any taste is going to pay to listen to that garbage. Britney's Spears last album was pretty much a flop, because everyone knows how much of a talentless hack she really is, and they just downloaded that one song the clubs were playing. Those kind of acts are the ones getting hurt by downloading, not the people making music solely for the sake of making music.

That's pretty much the sum of it Eternal Idol. There are a lot of people not buying heavy metal albums, but are downloading instead. A certain portion of them are kids who can't go out and buy them because they aren't available locally. A certain portion are just outright stealing and a certain portion are buying and downloading too.

The fact of the matter is that there are more metal records being sold now than ever.

Of course, it doesn't matter that Britney's last album was a definate step away from the obvious stuff, and that she was (for her) experimenting musically, and that's why the new album flopped, because she didn't live up to what people expected. She could have released the greatest album of music ever released, and the same would have happened. Yet enough people bought her album for her to keep going as an artist, and you can't tell me the same happens for every metal musician, for it simply isn't true. People download Metal expecting to be surprised, and when it doesn't live up to it they move on, and that money that could've gone towards the album and ultimately the next (possible masterpiece) is gone. You cannot justify downloading by pretending that people only download non-metal. Lies. People buy Rihanna, else how is she top of the charts? People don't buy Metal.

No "people" don't buy metal, but the sales aren't going in the toilet either. For every band that comes out on a small deal and sells 10-50 thousand copies that contributes to the business of metal being popular. Just because there is no 3 or 4 bands selling millions does not mean it is not selling. It means there are 30 or 40 bands selling 10% each of what used to constitute a successful album.

100,000 copies in metal might as well be platinum status.

There are more small labels than ever selling respectable amounts of albums by a larger amount of bands.

Let's not forget that if Angra sells 100,000 units today they are in a lot better financial shape than a band 20 years ago going platinum.

Anyone hear the recent RIAA news? That they're suing someone who uploaded music he had bought from CDs to his computer? Are they fucking retarded?

Apparently it wasn't quite like that. He was sharing the files with others. Thank god they're legalizing uploading files from a CD over here.

[packs up his shit and heads to the UK]

He's saying that people will pay for music if they like it

As a consumer, I know downloading helps me a lot, but I can't speak for artists or anyone else. I don't really think it matters though because whether its a good thing or a bad thing they're going to have to adapt to it because it's not going to go away.