The RIAA is being unreasonable with all that bs about MP3s being illegal, you can't copy your CDs, etc.
I do agree, that people downloading music off Kazza and enjoying it (without paying) is not legal, however, sampling, IMO, is completely legal. It is like a "trial version" that you can download. I imagine if the record companys offered samples that self-distructed after x ammount of days, that it would be a smashing hit. But, that is just IMO.
If I want to see what a movie is like either before buying it or going to see it in a theartre, I go watch a trailer that I download off the internet. What do I do if I want to decide weither or not I like the latest release of "hIapPy asYlum b0unD freEks" if I can't "legaly" sample it? Most stores I go to won't allow you to return opened music, so if you don't like it, you're screwed. You just gave the RIAA 18 hard earned $$$, and they are loving it
Personaly, I don't buy much music (I own all of 12 albums), but the CD copying thing is a problem. All the CDs I use are copys, I have all my origonal CDs boxed up and put away, so that if I drop a disc and dammage it, I don't have to go purchace a replacement, I just spend $0.10 and burn another copy.
I was letting a friend borrow one of my games, and his dad got all over my case because it was a CD-R and not the origonal disc. He went on about how the software company payed money to produce this product and how copying it and redistributing it is illegal and considered stealing...
Yeah, sure. If you want to borrow the origonal disc as well as the copy, fine with me. But, if anything happens to the origonal disc, you're buying me a new one, either before or after I hurt you badly
Software rights and such is getting greyer by the minute. I just purchaced my copy of this game, but I can only use it on one computer? That stinks! Windows XP takes it to the extreme. I don't want my computer tallying up every hardware change I have made in the last 3 months to decide if it wants to boot for me or not. Eventualy people are going to get fed-up, and hopefuly that will be soon, or the software industry is going to be extracting a lot more $$$ than they should be from the average joe
All my MP3s, WMAs (evil M$), WAVs, etc. are completely legal (every stinking one of them
). I either a. own the CD, or b. legaly obtained the music from the artist via free downloads (offered off the artist's website). Never used Napster/Kazza/any other P2P software in my life, and here is the RIAA saying that my MP3s are illegal. I don't think I'm letting my friend look at my music directory any time soon...
I do have copys of TV shows on my HDD as well, most have been stripped of comercials as well. Do I think that is illegal? No! I could have watched that movie when it was on, and muted the TV though all the comercials, or gone to the loo like Joe suggested
. Comercials are so that the networks can stay on the air, and I understand that, but me watching a comercial for a fast food chain that moved out of my area 5 years ago isn't going to help fund the TV networks! Please!!
People are making way too big a deal out of this, and the industry is taking advange of it to raise prices. The fact that a single CD can cost upwards of $18 is insane, that is at the most 70 min of music, and I'm paying $18 for it? If they'd lower CD prices/allow MP3 track purchaces, things may look up for the music industry...
BTY, before anyone mentions it, the Apple music download is bs, and someone else like Sony needs to pick it up, and make the music avalible in a non-propriatary format, or in a format that has a player avalible that doesn't suck so badly
