All right then, let me go ahead and restate my case.
The music is not all that bad and some artist are giving better accounts of themselves than others. For example, I paid for Muse's last album and it was fucking awful. I actually got annoyed that I could have saved the £15 I spent on that album for something else. I don't think you can put it down to taking a gamble on a certain album. The problem with music is that you never know what you are going to get before you listen to it and a lot of the time you feel cheated that you paid a lot of money for something that you wont enjoy. It's like going out for a meal and paying £60. Then you find out that you don't like what the Chef has prepared. In that scenario, generally, they will take something off your bill. A bad example? Maybe. But I don't see why I should pay through the nose for something that I might actually hate. I've learned lessons in the past.
I might be selfish and I think you want me to admit that. I have no problems with saying that, I want to hear what bands are offering and I hate paying a lot for the music. I generally don't have a lot of disposable income once all of my bills are paid and find that downloading music is just cost-effective. Maybe I am greedy and it is obviously against the law but people do it every day. I've never warned about it and when I do, I will stop. I don't mind telling you that I am stealing and I am not trying to defend it. But music companies need to realise that music should be accessible for everyone and £15 for one CD is ridiculous. Half the price and I would certainly buy more. I don't download everything though. The bands I know I will like will get my money. The artists I am in doubt about, I will download.
I may be morally bankrupt but at this point, I feel as though a lot of factors have pushed me towards that. I buy just as many as I download and I download shamelessly. I don't feel bad about it and anything you say wont make me change that. I guess my argument comes down to Why take the risk on every song being shit and wasting my money?
No offense intended, but everything you just said there is an excuse. It's justification for your own peace of mind to rip off the people who provide the good to you.
When you bought that Muse album, you knew there would be a chance you wouldn't like it, correct? Of course you did. But you took the chance that you would like it, and it backfired on you. Lesson learned. That's part of dealing in economics. I'm sure plenty of Muse fans thought the album was good and worth the money. Just because YOU don't, doesn't speak to the quality of the album.
Let's talk about a few other things:
1) You don't have a lot of disposable income. You know what the solution to that is? You don't get to listen to the music. What makes you think you're entitled to the music? There is no moral clause in any country that says you have the right to goods and services you cannot afford, so why would music be any different?
2) Your restaurant example. I've never been some place where they are willing to take a percentage off of the bill because you didn't like it. But, for argument's sake, let's say the restaurant did. Why would they do that? Because they want you to come back and spend that $60 on another meal. What incentive does the music industry have to take money off their CD? So you can still rip it off for free? That doesn't make any sense for them to do.
3) You mentioned if the music industry would charge less for the CD, more people would buy it (you said you would be more likely to buy it, so let's just extend that to everyone). The problem with this notion is that it just isn't supported by facts. People can offer an app in the iPhone app sore for $1, but people still will hack their phones and install cracked version of the app for free. No matter what price those CDs are in the store, they still are going to cost more than free.
At the end of the day, the problem here is not that you're greedy, it's that you have a feeling of entitlement to things you just don't deserve. The fact you can come up with all these reasons to justify stealing things you simply don't WANT to buy is proof of that. However, it's a shame so many in this world feel that way, because there used to be a little honor to people, in that they'd take what they earned and could afford. Now, with the digital age, people think they're entitled to everything simply because they can.
It's just plain dishonest. And no one has pushed you to be dishonest, you choose to be dishonest.
. However, you have to look at it from the point of view from the people who make music. Making money from what they love to do isn't selling out or being cheap. A lot of their revenue comes from record sales. Also, think of the people who produce the album. If songs are downloaded, they're not making money at all. iTunes pays musicians a very tiny amount, which is why bands like Tool aren't on iTunes. So what did I do? I went and purchased the big four albums again(Never loan a person albums). I get if you just are poor...well not poor...just don't have the money or time, but if you make a pretty decent living, you should be able to go down to _________ and purchase _______. The artists aren't being stingy; you are.
