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Comment by hugh3 | Hacker News Reader

This will not result in less piracy

How so? Data point: I don't pirate music, partly because I'm paranoid about getting sued by the RIAA. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

frequently-pirated music makes more money than less-pirated music.

Yes, popular music makes more money than unpopular music. Duh.

pirates spend more money on music than non-pirates

Which, even if true, is not a demonstration of "pirates spend more money on music than they would if they weren't pirates".

I am extremely skeptical of the idea that piracy helps the music industry. It smells strongly of the kind of thing that people believe in order to justify their own actions, rather than the kind of thing that people believe because it's likely to be true.

If you're still pirating music in 2010, and the track you're pirating is available on the Apple Store for 99 cents, then you're just being a cheap bastard.

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> If you're still pirating music in 2010, and the track you're pirating is available on the Apple Store for 99 cents, then you're just being a cheap bastard.

Where can I get my iTunes for Linux?

Amazon's digital music is pretty awesome. The only annoying limitation is that you're only allowed to download the file once, but I just immediately upload it to S3.

Another annoying limitation is that Amazon MP3 is limited to US customers only.

This greatly annoys me as there's an album I want that's not on iTunes, but is on Amazon MP3. None of the local music stores stock it. My only choices are to either pirate the album or pay exorbitant fees and wait several weeks to import the disc.

Guess which one's easier.

On the dual-boot to your hackintosh. Ah crap that does not seem to resolve the pirating problem. :)

The response to the itunes lover.... Seriously when we mention pirated music sells more, its because studies show that while pirating is up so are sales. In fact sales are higher now than when pirating was non-existent. There is very little corelation shown that pirating hurts music sales, and vice versa, so both arguments are kind-of equally valid. The music industry just wants every damn penny.

See the post about the Humble Bundle's pirating issue. The entire bundle of games could be purchased at 1 penny, yet people pirated, and often there are good reasons why someone will pirate vs buy.

> If you're still pirating music in 2010, and the track you're pirating is available on the Apple Store for 99 cents, then you're just being a cheap bastard.

No, its because you've been brought up with the idea that free music is ubiquitous and encourages more music consumption. You've seen the rise and fall of Napster, Morpheus, Limewire, etc and you justify it to yourself that these sites helped you discover new music more rapidly than having to pay for music. You believe that not spending $100/month on music means you can attend more concerts and buy more merch. Music pirates aren't cheap, they just choose to spend their money elsewhere. Fortunately, the music industry is just beginning to realize where this elsewhere lies. Go to best buy and see the new Dr. Dre Beats headphones that everyone is crazy about. Go to Wal-Mart and see the new Miley Cyrus line of clothes and DVDs. Bands and Brands is the future of music and this is how people choose to pay for music.

The fact that somebody doesn't spend $100/month on music doesn't mean he's spending it on concerts or merch. He might be spending it on heroin or video games instead.

Nah, you can pirate the video gamnes too. Heroin however...

> ... paranoid about getting sued by the RIAA. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

All of my internet-savvy friends pirate music, and nearly all of my non-savvy friends pirate music. The only difference is the non-savvy ones may actually get caught.

> ... popular music makes more money than unpopular music. Duh.

It being obvious doesn't make it not true. If the top-selling album in a year gets pirated 10 times as often as purchased, does the RIAA really think they only got one eleventh of the payments they would've gotten were it not for piracy?

> ... is not a demonstration of "pirates spend more money on music than they would if they weren't pirates".

I gave myself as an example to show that piracy can in fact directly lead to sales.

> If you're still pirating music in 2010, and the track you're pirating is available on the Apple Store for 99 cents, then you're just being a cheap bastard.

What if I pirate it, then either don't like it, or buy the physical album? I have never purchased music digitally because the digital versions are easily available for free. That seems like business 101—if your product is easily available for free (whether or not acquiring it is a crime), lower your prices or somehow make your product more appealing than the free version.

> What if I pirate it, then either don't like it, or buy the physical album? I have never purchased music digitally because the digital versions are easily available for free. That seems like business 101—if your product is easily available for free (whether or not acquiring it is a crime), lower your prices or somehow make your product more appealing than the free version.

What do you do for a living?

Get student loans from the gov'ment.

> If you're still pirating music in 2010, and the track you're pirating is available on the Apple Store for 99 cents, then you're just being a cheap bastard.

I'm a cheap bastard until the band rolls into town the next time and I go because I know who they are and that I like their music. Touring is the new business model--records are live show promotion tools.

Fair enough if that's what the band wants, but who are you though to decide how the band should use it's IP?

He is the consumer, creating the demand. There is no demand for $15 compact discs, and there is lots of demand for good live performances. A band, like every business, must provide supply to meet demand if they want to make money. This is economics 101.

> partly because I'm paranoid about getting sued by the RIAA.

No need to be paranoid, here. They only go after big distributors, not downloaders (aka leeches).

And 8 year old schoolgirls and grandmothers and deaf people and...

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