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Rants >> Rant 162

:: Today's soundtrack: The Killers "Mr. Brightside" ::


A somewhat hot topic issue in this age of computer technology is music downloading. Of course, I'm not talking about the legal, right way to download via iTunes or other "authorized" digital outlets. Rather, I am referring to the dreaded, "not-so-legal" means of Peer-to-Peer file sharing that has the music industry all in a tizzy.

I can totally see the industry's side of it. I mean, yes they are in fact losing money, and how can any artist expect to be able to continue producing their art when they lose the means of supporting themselves when they do? I don't think it's quite gotten to that extreme yet. I mean, Britney Spears has been known to spend upwards $20,000 in forty-five minutes in a Gucci store, and I don't think Aerosmith will be filing for bankruptcy any time soon. So, until Snoop Dogg is homeless and begging for spare change, I present these PRO-Peer-to-Peer file sharing arguments:

1. It allows you "test drive" musicians you probably wouldn't have even given a chance in the past. There are very few people whose opinion on music I trust absolutely, so mostly when someone says to me, "dude, you would LOVE this band!" I tread lightly. A friend of mine had been hounding me for YEARS to give the Misfits a try. Punk rock had been hit-or-miss with me for a long time, so it wasn't until I downloaded three or four of their songs that I knew what I was missing. Based on that, I ran out and bought three CDs. I never would have done so if I hadn't "sampled" them in this way. I find this to be no different than if I were to have heard them on the radio. I don't pay for radio service, yet this is a perfectly legal way for me listen to music. Some bands, like the Birthday Massacre, offer low-quality downloads for free, high quality for a fee right on their own websites, and yes this is how I got into that band as well and I now own their awesome album Violet because of it.

2. If a recording is out of print, no purchase will support the band. Think about it. If the record company is no longer putting forth pressings of an album, the only way to buy one will be second hand, and not new at the record store. If you buy a record on e-Bay or at a garage sale, the record company gets no money whatsoever for any and all of those sales, and it's their own fault. The Cure put out an instrumental EP follow up to their Wish album titled Lost Wishes. You could only get this EP on audio cassette if you sent away for it in the mail, and it is now a super-rare collector's item. Surprisingly, the four tracks on this EP were glaringly omitted from the Cure's huge rarities collection of Join the Dots, so the only way for any normal person to ever hear these wonderful instrumentals is to download them from someone who actually has a copy. Thanks to Peer-to-Peer sharing, hundreds, if not thousands, of people will be able to listen to these great tracks.

3. It gives fans the opportunity to hear unreleased, live material and demos. That's right, I specified "unreleased" there. Not every concert performance a band does gets printed into a record and this gives the particularly hardcore fans the chance to find their absolute favourite version or their favourite song. Or even, let's say your favourite band puts out a DVD of concert they did in France, with no CD to accompany it. Say this show has the best version of one of their songs you ever heard, but, alas, it is on DVD and not exactly in a format you can listen to over and over again while in your car or out walking. I myself personally lack the ability and smarts to convert a video recording into a sound only mp3 file, and I'm sure many people are in the same boat. With Peer-to-Peer sharing, you only need one person to have the software and know how to convert the DVD to individual mp3 tracks, and suddenly, the fans can listen to that awesome performance on their iPod. Yes, all these fans bought the DVD, so why should they suffer because the record company didn't put it out on CD as well? I'm sure if there HAD been an official CD release, they would have bought that, too.

4. It gives people who have their own small town bands another way to distribute their songs and get recognized. If you have a band in your basement, but no recording contract, Peer-to-Peer sharing is a great way to get your music "out there." I once downloaded a song not knowing what it was but it was listed as "similar to Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and The Cure," so I thought, "why not"? it was free after all. It turned out to be pretty great and if this guy had cut a CD, I would buy it in a second. By listing his song in this way, anyone doing a search for either of these three bands would also call his song up, which is a pretty smart way to get your target audience. In the same vein, it also gives amateur DJs a means to show off their mad mixing skills by either simply reduxing one existing song, or taking two or more and blending them into something completely other. Their work might never be heard without this means of self distribution. Many synth and techno bands offer amateur DJ mixing contests (like Freezepop) on their sites where winners get the B-side on their next single and the runners up are available for free download on their site as it is, so many artists are definitely in support of amateur DJ talent.

There you have it, my main pro-Peer-to-Peer sharing arguments. Obviously, I don't think anyone should get ALL of their music by "not-so-legal" means such as this. I personally find downloading an entire album for free in this way to be in extremely poor taste. If you truly like a band, you ought to support them by purchasing albums, but sometimes what you want from them isn't available by commercial means, and that's when I think Peer-to-Peer comes into play. For example, as a hardcore Cure fan, I will buy their latest album without even hearing a sample track. I in fact own their Kiss Me album on audio cassette, CD and vinyl record. But also as a drooling fanboy, I won't be satisfied until I've heard it all and sometimes Peer-to-Peer sharing is the only way that's going to happen (see reasons two and three), and I don't think I ought to be punished for that.

Well, seeing as to how this post is tantamount to a confession of semi-legal activities, if I "go missing under mysterious circumstances," I think it's safe for you all to assume the FBI has kicked in my door and carted me away to be made an example of to others.

William (one of the Most Wanted!)

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