DOWNLOADING MUSIC

Eboue-Why? · Post by **Eboue-Why?** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:13 am

Now I'm a bit of a dinosaur and my kids have always downloaded from iTUNES. They now want to use Linewire which they tell me is free. I assume this is illegal but they tell me 'everybody does it'!!
Can anybody tell me if it's safe from a legal point of view and also whether the stuff you put on your iPOD/PC is likely to be full of viruses etc.

Cheers

n7gooner · Post by **n7gooner** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:18 am

I don't use it

but have it on very good authority that all the stuff you download is good. I don't think its legal but its unlikely you will have anything happen to you.

RaM · Post by **RaM** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:20 am

Yes, it is illegal.

Yes, everybody does it. (Well...most people...)

From a legal point of view...I think you'd be pretty safe. It would Limewire that gets in trouble, not you. No government would be bothered to hunt down hundreds of thousands of people. (I hope...)

Viruses...just be careful what you download. Its usually pretty obvious. Because the things you download from Limewire are coming from someone who already has that file on their computer, most of them are god because most people aren' stupid/twisted enough to keep viruses and deliberately rename them as songs for people to download...but it does happen.

Post by **QuartzGooner** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:38 am

It is illegal.

It is immoral, as the artists do not get paid when you download, so it is theft.

But nearly everybody does it.

I have never downloaded something that I could buy, because I think it is wrong, but I am in a minority (I have downloaded demos and mixtapes that are not for sale though).

As others have said, run virus checks and have good protection software, because downloading anything carries some risk.

Captain Fabregas · Post by **Captain Fabregas** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:40 am

I'll give you a hint, if you happen to be downloading music off limewire, when it is downloading and when it is on about 20% or something (just basically before it has finished) right click and preview the file and if you don't hear your desired song or just hear dead silence then it could be a virus, if it is the song you want then it is most likely 99% of the time safe

(Obviously cancel the download that you think might be a virus before it finishes)

And this is something a friend of a friend of a friend told me

MM99 · Post by **MM99** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:42 am

as someone who knows someone who uses limewire a lot and for almost 99% of songs on his itunes

i feel i can give you the best answer.

theres been a sudden influx of virus' on there so now more than ever you need to know which file is legit and which is a virus. always first look at the size of the file, usually around 3-5 MB for a normal quality song. then put your mouse over the file and leave it there for a sec, a little yellow info box will appear and will give you info about the song length, artist, title etc... if one does not appear, then it is a virus, do not download it. but bascially you should be careful as in a search result about 80% of the files are virus'.

all in all if you know what youre doing you'll be fine and save yourself heaps in terms of money, alternatively there are torrents out there where you can get full albums etc... and are usually safer.

RaM · Post by **RaM** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:18 am

I've been meaning to start using torrents...but I never get arond to downloading the programs for it.

digger · Post by **digger** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:29 am

the pirate bay is basically awesome if you like stealing music

It's no more difficult than limewire to install bittorrent (in fact, doesn't limewire support torrent files now?

)

I use torrentflux... it means i can search for torrents from work and my home computer downloads them so they're ready to watch/listen to when i get back

JakeN13 · Post by **JakeN13** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:18 am

I use the torrent websites if I look for something specific but also enjoy the old DC++ where I can look through other peoples music files and find stuff I want but never thought of.

projoe · Post by **projoe** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:30 am

i hate limewire. the last few things ive downloaded from their (songs) have all had viruses, i would advise using Blubster for music downloads. after downloading its easy to import into itunes

12thGooner · Post by **12thGooner** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:18 am

Downloading without purchasing the copywrite is illegal which ever way you look at it.

The use of torrents is much safer as it takes the files from those that are already on other users machines and thus are unlikely to be virus'.
They can often be missed named, ie lost turns out to be an episode of corrie.

The pirate bay are currently in litigation for supplying directory locations for illegal downloads.

Even tho everyone does it, its pretty easy to trace who these people are, just no one is bothered. There have been cases where individuals are prosecuted as examples to others. One in the last year got done in excess of 60K for downloading a game. Its one of those it'll never happen to me moments, until it does. If they spot you you aint got a leg to stand on.

IPS (internet service providers) are not currently obliged to inform the authorities for illegal downloads, basically coz they don't check file types. However they do know it goes on and it will state in your terms that excessive downloading will be noted and they will take it further if you continue after being warned about the amount of bandwidth you are using.

wave of mutilation · Post by **wave of mutilation** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:52 am

you'll be fine

I think it is always better to support the artists, writers and musicians you care about though, because if their music doesn't make money, record labels will be less inclined to give them record deals, which means no advance for them to live on, which means they'll have to work a full-time job, which means they will have less time and energy to focus on creating the music you love, in addition to not having the assistance a record company would normally provide with regard to actually producing the record itself to a certain degree of quality in a professional recording facility.

That's just me though

RaM · Post by **RaM** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:00 am

I think it is always better to support the artists, writers and musicians you care about though, because if their music doesn't make money, record labels will be less inclined to give them record deals, which means no advance for them to live on, which means they'll have to work a full-time job, which means they will have less time and energy to focus on creating the music you love, in addition to not having the assistance a record company would normally provide with regard to actually producing the record itself to a certain degree of quality in a professional recording facility.

Personally, I buy the albums of the bands I really love and also support them by going to their concerts and buying merchandise at said concerts.

But I download the rest of my music. (Basically, the sort of bands who I only listen to one or two songs by...or I just don't like them that much...)

digger · Post by **digger** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:06 am

RaM wrote:Personally, I buy the albums of the bands I really love and also support them by going to their concerts and buying merchandise at said concerts.

But I download the rest of my music. (Basically, the sort of bands who I only listen to one or two songs by...or I just don't like them that much...)

Same here. I've bought so many shit CDs, I've spent thousands on stuff I've never listened to. So, if there's a band I like, I'll see them live. They make more money from me going to a gig then they would me buying a CD.

wave of mutilation · Post by **wave of mutilation** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:18 am

digger wrote:Same here. I've bought so many shit CDs, I've spent thousands on stuff I've never listened to. So, if there's a band I like, I'll see them live. They make more money from me going to a gig then they would me buying a CD.

That is a myth.

The whole system of bands getting advances (i.e. thousands upon thousands of pounds worth of money, i.e. a living) from record labels relies on the fact that people are buying their CDs