2c
well for what it's worth to chip in...
I think the beer anaology is as such
*paytard* beer is a lovely glass of premium quality bitter, pumped from the taps of your local, you gives yer money ans you sit down and enjoy.
*freetard* beer is more like homebrew. You have to have a slight startup cost, (buying the brewing kit, or getting a computer).
you wait a while (for it to brew/download) then you get to drink your pint. somewhere you feel the sense of achievement because you brewed it yourself/ripped of a corrupt industry. but after th initial sense of achievement wears off ou realise, it's just not as good dammit, and I want the real thing.
@poster above
However as the productors are quite willing to loose money on 3 films out of 5 we have to pay for their backing of the wrong horse.
and that's the big problem here, that's one reason why the freetards exist.
I *don't want* to pay for someone else's mistake.
_IF_ record execs choose a lemon, then they should get a better team.
I frankly don't give a crap about shite music, I won't buy it, and don't want to subsidise it in my legal paytard persuits of good music.
I do buy CD's but it annoys me to now that the money I paid for a good record, (lets say of a now dead artist) is not going to the artist, (s/he's dead), it's not even going to the estate of the artist in a lot of cases, it's going to subsidise the elevation of the next big thing that never works out. or it's going to payout the rest of the development contract that the next latest greatest shite massivly marketable, yet equally unskilled artist.
somewhere in the middle seems to me to be the best idea...
i.e. if artists really want to be artists, then they should strive for public acceptance first, by releasig thier stuff for free for download.
then if there is public interests then by all means a record company can come in and see what they can do to further elevate/profit from said artist.
but surely you get annoyed knowing that the money you paid for your SonyBMG released CD is going to be used to prop up the second CD sales of last years (now forgotten about) [popidol/americal idol/reality TV show] winner, rather than the profits of it going to the artist.
@Leo Maxwell
And when you listen somebody pays, the radio station, the bar, the supermarket, but the money very rarely gets back to the artist.
ummm... wrong. go look at ppluk.com if a radiostation/tv are playing music by artists they have to be registerd here, they note what they play and the artists are given royalties, there are even fixed percentages, for guest performers on records, recording artists, session musicians etc...
in short you're wrong. the money does get back to the artists.
@Magilla -EPIC fail (ha, ha, actualy your response was the epic fail)
Firstly, ever heard of a cover band? If not, they are bands who play other peoples songs, often get paid for it, but don't pay royalties. In effect, there are your cheap MFIkea knock-offs.
most cover bands play in pubs and clubs, certainly in the UK there is a PRS fee for playing live or recorded music. so yes, the artists do get a percentage. even if that percentage is paid to them before they've done any work when the recording company are laying out money so they can record their first album.
(e.g. a pub might loop a single song each day, but the band won't get paid for everytime that song is played, however the recording companys will get a fixed fee for allowing their music to be played in places signed up with the sceme, this money (or a percentage of it) will end up back with the artist
@poster above
[paraphrased]
Q, I pay for the music i like, but down load shit music to play at parties -why should I pay
A, because you and your friends are still getting enjoyment out of it. if you don't like it, don't get it. tell your guests to bring CD's of music that they like.
I love that whole, I steal because I support the artists crap, because it is just crap.
the recording company pay the artist and like any other business
no money in = no money out.
if you seal from the recording company you are not suporting the artist, even if you think that by going to a show you've shown more support you've still chosen not to pay them.
that said, I do support the try before you buy theory of downloading.