What's your opinion on piracy laws for music?
By jambi462
@jambi462 (4576)
United States
April 29, 2010 6:07pm CST
I just read an article about the rapper 50 Cent talking about how the government needs to start cracking down on illegal piracy laws for downloading of music. He says that musicians are losing lots of money because technology is getting better and they need to adjust laws as such.
Personally I think it's ridiculous that someone that brags about how much money he makes in his songs think that they truly deserve more money. The real big musicians are already making so much money from endorsements, clothing lines, merchandise, concerts, ticket sales, and plenty of other stuff. Honestly as a musician I would want my fans to be able to listen to my music.
CD prices are ridiculous with most CD's costing on upwards of at least 15 dollars and if you are buying a CD of an artist you don't know that well you can get shafted because let's face it there are a lot of one hit wonders out there that aren't worth paying that much money for one good song. Anyways to be able to have a music collection of all your favorite artists it would cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Shirts and stuff usually sell for about 20 bucks, tickets can be on the upwards of 50 dollars. I just don't see how people can have mansions more cars then there are days in the week, and brag about how much money he has in his songs deserves to ask the people that are making his paycheck for more money.
1 person likes this
5 responses
@divineathena (1746)
• United States
30 Apr 10
Music piracy came to this world many years ago. I mean people always found a way to get copies of the songs whether they were on tape or something else. Back then no one really complained. If these people really want to stop the piracy now then they should simply bring down the prices of the CD's. Who would spend 15 to 20 bucks for a disk that stops playing properly after a few months? Tapes were better. At least the quality ones lasted. But anyways, if they cannot bring down the prices of the CD's they shouldn't be complaining. People now keep songs on hard drives or online folders which make the song quality last longer.
As for 50 cent, he should thank God that people find his stuff worthy of pirating. Life has become so strange. People take pleasure from recitations and not from real songs!
@divineathena (1746)
• United States
30 Apr 10
Thank you for the response. I agree with the opinion you gave about musicians. I mean yes, if they are passionate about their creativity and see that people would do anything to get a hold of their work they should feel proud of themselves. Money should not be an issue. Like you said, these artists already make a lot of money from the fame they acquire. So they shouldn't bother about piracy. But this music is getting eaten up by business. You buy a new album today. Tomorrow its another version will be out with the same songs. Only difference wis that. The 2nd version will have a few bonus tracks or a booklet. This is driving music fans insane. Why would they again buy the same album just for a few bonus tracks? It is better just to download and add them to the playlist.
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
30 Apr 10
Yeah a great example is that new ACDC cd that's coming out as a soundtrack to Iron Man 2. There aren't any new songs on that CD they are just digitally remastered old ACDC songs being remarketed with an Iron Man album cover.
Hollywood makes a lot of remakes such as remade albums, remade movies, and even copies of people. There are a lot of celebrities that are all the same.
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
30 Apr 10
Exactly. I went to a bassnectar concert not too long ago and there were probably 5 thousand people there. With general admission tickets ranging from 25 to 40 dollars and then VIP tickets ranging from 50 dollars up most musicians are pulling down bank with most of the shows that they play.
@MrNiceGuy (4141)
• United States
30 Apr 10
I think piracy laws are ridiculous. They can't even make a dent in the filesharing networks and technology that is out there these days. Way too many people do it. And its not like the artists aren't making money at all, and it helps the artist's music spread to more people.
@jwetter (73)
• United States
30 Apr 10
I do understand piracy laws and why it is wrong to download songs illegally. However, just to give another angle, there are many bands that I have gone and seen live that have encouraged people to download their songs. They recognize that is what gets people to come to their concerts. Even thought I do think something should be done there should be a better way of sharing the music for a cheaper price then there is. That way more will buy and there will be less illegal downloads.
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
30 Apr 10
I feel like there needs to be some kind of compromise because a lot of musicians already have plenty of money and times are getting harder each day. I don't think that people should be prosecuted because they figured out how to utilize the technology that they were provided with to help better their life. Still it is stealing and I do recognize that. I just hope that no one has to serve jail time or prison time for it because that kind of punishment can seriously change you.
