get some SEX MACHINEGUNS

yes do that

DRM BATTLE!!!!!!!!!

I torrent albums first. If I like it I buy it.

Oh and zmann would you like it if we all chipped in and sent you a download for some new RAM this holiday season?

Does iTunes remember the songs you've bought?  Last I recall they didn't and if that HDD dies your hard-earned, ill-spent money goes with it.

You can re-sync your iPod to a new machine.  You can also make data backups of your purchases.

Oh and zmann would you like it if we all chipped in and sent you a download for some new RAM this holiday season?

I already bought a RAM upgrade.  Now I need a BIOS upgrade so that my computer doesn't get stuck in an endless loop when the new RAM is in there.

You should listen to Dreamtale. Those crazy Finns and their Power Metal.

Also musicians hardly make anything from album or song purchases. In fact, there were some musicians who literally got nothing from their sales on iTunes. They sued and were compensated, but the point is most of the money goes to the distributors.

p. sure the dude who does the cover art gets more money than the people who actually make the music

Generally money is made from concerts.

GOOD THING I DOWNLOAD CONCERTS LOL

(i download music, then i go to one of their concerts and buy one of their cds directly from them)

I only go to a concert every 5 years because all the crazy Finnish pagan bands don't tour in Dallas, plus only a few electronic bands come here.

Also musicians hardly make anything from album or song purchases.

It's still more than they make from theft.

Here's how it works: The "distributor" (Warner Bros, for example) cuts a contract with the artist, in which the artist agrees to a certain percentage of the proceeds.  In exchange for this, they are given an advance (read: zero-percent interest loan), the amount of which is agreed upon at the beginning.  "Proceeds" usually don't come until after this advance has been paid off, unless the artist is given a real sweetheart deal.

Most of the reason bands vanish after one or two albums, is because the album doesn't make enough money to cover the loss that the record company takes for making the album and issuing the advance - and since the artists are under contract, they can't just decide to take their ball and go somewhere else.

It's all well and good to say that "most of the money doesn't go to the artist", but it does go to the media engine that makes albums, concerts, and the music listening technology possible.  Everyone, from the record execs to the roadies to the record store employees to the caterers to the studio engineers to the album cover artists and so on and so forth, deserves to get paid for their contribution.  Without them, the band would still be burning their poo pooty basement recordings onto blank disks and getting none of the benefits of a national media engine (like, say, getting more than 30 people to show up when you go to a new city and venue).

Furthermore, if it seems like the record producer is making an inappropriate amount of money as compared to one band, keep in mind that they tend to manage the affairs and production of more than one band.  In some cases, hundreds.

Are the record execs making too much?  It's arguable.  But let's face it: they're the reason that people can actually do this for a living.  Most artists just have to starve or get a separate job.

As for the iTunes debacle - they sued and they won.  So what's the issue?

i download music, then i go to one of their concerts and buy one of their cds directly from them

Generally money is made from concerts.

I only go to a concert every 5 years because all the crazy Finnish pagan bands don't tour in Dallas, plus only a few electronic bands come here.

This is still a crapshoot depending on the venue and the band's contract.  But it's definitely more supportive of the artist, since you pay once to hear them play once, as opposed to buying their recordings.

I'm an inconsiderate cheap bastard, so I will continue to screw over my favorite musicians.

I'm an inconsiderate cheap bastard, so I will continue to screw over my favorite musicians.

I can accept that.  Carry on.

Honestly, I don't care if you buy music or not. I actually prefer people buying music, so I won't continue to debate you since you don't really mind that I pirate music.

p. sure the dude who does the cover art gets more money than the people who actually make the music

hopefully this is true cause i often find myself buying cds by picking the one with the coolest cover

Quote from: NIGS_ARE_WINNER on 22-12-2008, 14:05:30 PM

p. sure the dude who does the cover art gets more money than the people who actually make the music

hopefully this is true cause i often find myself buying cds by picking the one with the coolest cover

That's why I buy Vinyl