Downloading illegally or buying CDs in a shop?

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Be honest here guys... Do you still buy CDs in a record store the way a loyal fan should do, or do you admit to download illegally frequently?



I am somewhat in between.

I have a few bands I am really into and of those I want to really have every release on CD. So I buy all their albums and even CDsingles, I never download anything of them apart from bootlegs that are not available on regular albums. But I will own a legal copy of every release of these few bands.

Because I spend much money on those few bands, I tend to download tracks of bands I am less fanatical with. Purely out of financial limits. I often use Limewire or download from MySpace. I know it is not really fair but I am more or less forced to do it because of financial reasons. I buy all albums of the bands I am really into, and often travel abroad to see those few bands in concert multiple times per year. To save some money for those, I tend to download the nice tracks of bands I am not really a fan of.

I still buy music frequently the lagl way, but also download frequently.

I am a record collector. I prefer vinyl records to digital formats for several reasons:

1) I prefer the sound of a record. It is a continuous sound wave, a literal physical reflection of the original sound. Digital recordings involve the sound equivalent of pixels (a collection of tiny, broken sound waves).

2) The packaging of records makes them fun and more collectable.

3) They are the most durable form of recording. Yes, they can be scratched, but it actually takes a lot of rough handling (or one dull needle) to affect play. CDs are more easily scratched and can be ruined by a single defect. Sound files stored in a computer may become obsolete as technology progresses.

4) They may be a good investment. There are still a lot of collectors of rare records. The value of records that are considered desirable continues to increase. This could change, but at present, records are gaining value in the collectors' market.

5) New, they are cheaper than CDs, usually by $1 or $2. But it adds up.

6) Record players last a long time. Belts and needles can be cheaply and easily replaced. CD players are easily damaged, usually having to be replaced at least every 10 - 15 years.

If I download music, it's just to find out whether or not I want to buy the record.

I love collecting cds, I love having big stacks of em all around me, and I love listenin to my cds all day.
I dont get this kinda joy from downloading music.

My eMusic subscription satisfies most of my needs. Cheap, DRM-free, legal and with excellent choice from the labels I like and respect.

If I can't download legally DRM-free, I will fess up and say I do turn to *ahem* unofficial sources if they're not an indie label. I want to own my music, and the debacle that was Google Video has warned me off buying anything DRMed.

I occasionally buy CDs of my favourite artists, particularly if they're not on eMusic or if they come with a free DVD, but this is a rarity.

I've downloaded far more than I'll ever listen to.

I'll never tell....

You can use a mixture of sources.

If you are downloading a complete collection of tracks for an artist /group ..... 20 - 50 tracks - use FrostWire or LimeWire - which are free , peer to peer sharing sites.

If you are downloading an album - it's easier and more reliable to use one of the Russian Download sites such as Mp3Sale.ru , Goldenmp3.ru or alloffmp3.org .

The Russain sites charge around 15 cents per track or $1.44 per album .

I guess it lets you see if you like an artist if you download some. I really love Muse and have recently started buying their albums and using P2P to get old demos and B-sides.

I get all of my preferred music legally, and in CD form at that. I like to have high quality "masters" that I can encode any file type from. On my portable audio devices, my preferred file format for music is ogg vorbis because it's better than mp3 in every way.

I download video game music, as it's not sold here.

I download most of my music initially. If I like it I buy it.

If it weren't for music file sharing I probably wouldn't listen to much music at all. Much of the music I like isn't played on the radio.

Downloading illegally.

It's only illegal if you sell it on to someone else, mind you this criteria applies to movies and p0rn as well.

I like this rule, so I keep my collection of music to myself.

I've already downloaded the likes of Serj Tankian's new album "Elect The Dead", it's awesome.

I doubt if that law applies to many countries. In my native country possessing an MP3 is legal only if you also have the song on record. Even if you don't sell it to anyone, it is still illegal to download the song if you don't have a legal version bought from the shop. Exceptions are paid mp3's from legal downloadsites.

Thankfully the authorities seem to target the people who make their collection ( usually thousands of tracks) available online for download - rather than people who simply download from them.

If you choose to download music illegally, Russian sites are the best because local authorities have more serious things to worry about than to control what is hosted on their servers. So the average Ukrainian or Russian MP3 site will be full of goodness. Just run a spyware test afterwards though cause their servers are often infected.

I don't think this forum should be used to encourage illegal activities. Let's stick to the topic and refrain from talking about places to download illegal music copies.