Preserved Topic: And here comes the question

How much would you actually willing to pay per month for Napster? Let's say unlimited downloads? http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3331088,00.html

I'm not willing to pay anything. The best things in life are free, or at least they should be, heh...

I wouldn't pay a per month fee, but I would be willing to pay a per download fee IF it were reasonable. I was reading the other day that some of the record companies have have direct download options from thier sites, but that it would cost roughly twice the amount it would to actually go out and buy the CD and that the process was very confusing and unstable.

what really confuses me is why I could borrow a CD from you, record it and that is fine, but napster, which was basically just that, was illegal. They were not making any money off it or the site (at least that I know of). head spinning.

then there is the whole issue of the price of CDs which were supposed to be rather inexpensive after the first few years, but instead continue to rise. I know there were congressional hearings about that last year but nothing really came of it. grrrrr

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what really confuses me is why I could borrow a CD from you, record it and that is fine...

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Um, no, that's illegal, too.

You're allowed to make one copy of a song that you have bought for *personal use*, that's it. Legally.

You know, the whole thing is f***ed up...

You can't record songs from another CD but is there a law that says you can't record songs from the radio??? If It was illegal they wouldn't put a record button on tape recorders.

Now I know (from what I heard on TV and news) that Napster is protected by something called "home recording" law which means you can record songs but not for profit, just for your listening pleasure...

This is like talking about drinking and driving. We all know it's bad, you drink and drive and get pulled over and you are in trouble but in same time they sell alcohol at gas stations!!! what the hell?!?!?!!

Pot...they won't legalize it because it's a drug, right? Well.. how many potheads did you see beating their wifes or kid or whatever. How many pot smokers do you know that cause trouble??? Do you know what I am talking about? I know this is off the subject but some things just don't make sense here. if copying songs and cds is illegal then they shouldn't product CD burners.

really? i did not know this (obviously). oops.

I guess then that would bring up the question as to why CD recorders are legal-not cd burners, but the CD recorders they sell at the stero store (I know-for the one copy I made for personal use).

breaking the law, breakin the law

Napster? geeezzzz....

if say a few million people go and download a CD instead of buying it then it is going to hurt sales in the long run. If artists dont get their money they will not produce quality work. As americans we all think, I should beable to get what i want for Free. Napster has shown how true that fact is. people are LAZY... they dont want to work for it, dont want to pay for quality, it is just, I WANT! I GET! and sadly enough... you do get it.

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Well, speaking for myself I do not think I should get what I want for free, but I also do not believe that downloading songs per se will stop quality music from being created. When I go to the record store I see more and more CDs by new artists in there each time. I download songs because I want one or two songs from an artist but refuse to pay an exorbidant amount to get it ($15-$18 for a CD!?!) for that one or two songs. That price is robbery. and if the record industry was so concerned about the artist not getting their worth they would pass along a little more of the moola they rake in each year (which I believe set industry records yet again last year though I might be wrong). Napster would not have been such a big hit if CDs were not so expensive. Yes some people will not pay for anything, that is just life, but I know most people look at cost first, then decide if it is worth it.

I also use Napster to listen to a couple songs from a new artist to see if I like more than what I just heard on the redio- Off the top of my head I can name 5 CDs I bought last year because I was able to listen to a couple songs before purchasing. Like I said, I willing to pay, but I am not willing to be gouged.

And just another quick question about this. If it is illegal to swap these files, then wouldn't gnutella and the like be illegal? The programs used for this could easily be shut down as they are out there and *advertived* on the gnutella site. It seemed the big deal with Napster dealt soley with volume, not the act itsef.

and BTW I pay retail for ALL my software

The whole thing is whacked. I would not pay. I have recently fallen in love with Winmx.

ok here is the deal with Gnutella... Unlike Napster.. it's peer-to-peer network wchich means there is no dedicated servers to shut down. When you connect on Gnutella to an IP address, you connect to every address that computer is connected. Therefore, it's impossible to stop it. What are they going to do??

Napster.. all they have to do is pull the plug on the servers and noone can connect.

I'd pay for convenience's sake. I buy my cds rather than burn them, but I still love being able to download songs to check out albums before I buy them, get obscure live stuff, etc.

There are quite a few arguments I could get myself into here, but I'll just choose the one:

"...If It was illegal they wouldn't put a record button on tape recorders."

That's like saying if it were really illegal to run over people with cars, they wouldn't put accelerators in them.

OK, maybe I'll get into another one... If you're not willing to pay what you consider a ridiculous price for one or two songs, then DON'T. If enough people feel the same way, they won't either, and the price will go down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, they will charge what the market will bear. I'm tired of hearing people accuse record distributors of "gouging" them. It's not like they're charging too much for something you have no choice in buying. They charge as much as people are willing to pay (for a LUXURY item), bottom line. That's free enterprise.

If you want to be able to buy one or two songs and pay for only those two songs, then write your Congressman or your record company or Napster and let them know you want that option and are willing to support it.

Right on Wes. Cars don`t kill people. People kill people. Get the hell out of the street ! That car`s got an accelerator !

Also, there`s lot`s of other things to record besides copywritten material. ( like your childs first words, Your best friends award acceptance speech, grass growing, whatever) That`s why there`s a record button.

any tool can be abused if you put a little thought into it. That doesn`t mean the tool should be outlawed.

On the pay-Napster thing, I, too am in favor on a fee per download. Get what you want, Pay for what you get. Long live free enterprise.



If they had just killed Gilligan, they`d have been off the island in a week.

<edit> Oh, yea, they sell alcohol ih gas stations because it`s convienient. That dosen`t necessarily mean that you HAVE to drink it on the way home from the gas station.</edit>

[This message has been edited by docilebob (edited 06-07-2001).]

In reference to your edit, Bob, I thought about this as I woke up mysteriously at 6:30 this morning. They sell alcohol at liquor stores and you have to drive there same as a gas station -- and usually further, I might add.

I am with bob & wes on this one...

if you can't buy music because its to expensive, get a job...if you have a job, get another...

if you want to listen to music before you buy, take your lazy ass down to any wherehouse or tower records, those big headphones on the wall...you can listen to the latest music in them...if it is old cd you want, most shops will allow you to listen to the album before you buy at least most around where i live...

Or how about go online to CDNow or Amazon, or wherever....most online shops will give you the option to listen to part or possibly all of a few songs on an album...how convenient ehh....

people are lazy and willing to take advantage of anything they can (especially if it will save them a couple bucks)...how about we take away your salary for whatever the hell you do...why, because we don't want to pay for it anymore...

I am perfectly fine with pay per download...musicians need to make a living just like you and me...

~Age doesn't always bring wisdom. Sometimes age comes alone.~

edit...and eyezaer, its not just americans that think this way, oh no...we are just the majority in this situation...

[This message has been edited by timothymcnulty (edited 06-07-2001).]