What would you do to stop music piracy?

Question

What would you do to stop music piracy?

Answer 1

Make the consumer want to buy the CD. I'd buy more CD's if they weren't so darned expensive.

Answer 2

good music are meant to be shared.



Good musicians would want their music to be circulated, known and loved. It's not like they're starving just because we don't buy CDs, they're simply earning LESS than before. What right do record companies and artistes for that matter, have to stop the evolution of technology and lifestyle?



Copyright issues only affect the recording companies. If we only download the songs and still attribute the credits to the right source, why is there a copyright issue for the singer or composer or lyricist? It's not like im saying "I Made Them".



Furthermore, when artistes' get their songs circulated, it boosts their popularity, and thus attract advertisers to flock to them, and that is where they start earning bigger bucks.



I myself collect original CDs and support all the good albums - meaning, only if the album contains more than say, 3 good songs. We cant deny that most albums in the market today are not entirely made up of quality stuff, especially if one artiste can come out with 3 albums in a year.



Lastly, if no one downloads, it'll be the end of bigger companies that make mp3 players and software. Which means that it'll prob cause another economic slump worldwide and result in the loss of millions of jobs. Comparing it to record companies and singers who are earning lesser, I believe the implications are bigger if we STOP downloading.



Nevertheless, I'll still purchase CDs i deem worth purchasing and keeping. Instead of wasting resources on trying to curb downloading, which is, inevitably, the new way of life in this modern era, why not spend your braincells on new and better marketing strategies?

Answer 3

Well with the piracy raid on the high i think this should be the time to fight fire with fire.

Make the legal downloads of the musics more Accessable, Well Advertised and most importantly Affordable.

This way not only comercialised musicians can benefit from it, it can also pave way for local freelance musicaians.

Answer 4

Piracy has always been an international problem. Given the development of digital media, it is inevitable that music and creatives will somehow find their way there.



There are various reasons why one would opt to download illegally instead of purchasing a full album. And it takes two hands to claps.



1. We cannot ignore the fact that most of us do not love the entire album. Instead, we love to buy only our favourite tracks. This is not quite possible when purchasing a CD. To buy an entire album for the sake of 1 or 2 songs is not economically-wise and pocket-friendly. That is exactly what many legitimate sites are doing, Beatport, Juno - enabling listeners to select and buy only tracks that they want. Failure to catch up with this trend, naturally throws fans with little choice but to turn to illegal downloads.



2. With the rise in digital media appliances like MP3 players and walkman phones, it is only natural that users of these appliances would opt for music which can be directly fed into our appliances for our own use. An album or CD is useless in this aspect, which requires more "work" before we can do so.



3. Are listeners the only contributing factor in piracy? I beg to differ. A good example of a recent saga would be the "fees imposed on nightclubs and shopping malls storing songs on computerised systems". While this move does not highlight the problem of piracy, but it has certainly shown the mindset of major labels and the recording industry in general. Other than performing royalties or reproduction royalties, where and who does this extra income of fees go to? Do the contracts of artistes allow them to make a claim towards their labels of additional royalties since it is their music that is being uploaded? This is widely publicised in news, and having seen the mindset of the local music industry, why would we still want to pledge our support?



4. A certain aspect of illegal downloads can be attributed to the pricing of CDs. Have CDs been made too expensive? IF it is, then it is not hard to see the primary factor that leads one to download music through illegal means. Given that I could purchase a track at a lower cost, why would listeners still turn to illegal downloads laden with viruses and spywares?



Overall, my opinion stands firm that both listeners and record labels have played their own part in the rise of illegal downloads. Record labels cannot place the fault entirely on end-users because as marketers, we simply cannot ignore the buying mentality of the mass. "Force-selling" will only leave end-users going in search of other avenues to get their music.



The loss of income cannot be attributed totally to illegal downloads too. If illegal downloads are to stop, there must be a replacement solution to convince why end-users should stop. Where is this replacement solution?



Just for reference, this is a case in 2003 involving BMG & Colombia House Music Club (US) on how major labels caught stealing $100million a year. Not to mention, they are the same companies that represent the artistes.

http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/print/6654



This is another one which again in United States, that Universal was sued for alleged copyrights infringement.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/08/universal_sued_for_alleged_copyright/



Are end-users the only party that contributes to the illegal downloads community? Is there something the labels themselves can help to improve?



Telling illegal downloaders that they are stealing is not going to change their mindset behind each download. Imposing harsh laws in Singapore is not going to stop the problem, since what the RIAS preaches is "fair trade" and in the drive to buy a full album when we do not need the full album is somewhat considered as "force selling". And especially when it has come out in the open about how major labels are ripping millions off their clients, it does put end-users in second thoughts - should we still contribute to the pockets of record labels who market our favourite artistes?



At this point, I will be asking - what can music labels contribute to help in stopping illegal downloads?

Answer 5

the music industry will soon be a part of the past. you are quickly becomming obsolite, because of the internet.

first off, musicians dont need music companys to publicise their music anymore, more and more musicians are using the internet to promote their music, without record companys taking a cut from them. Also, there is no way to outsmart the public. there will ALWAYS be a way to pirate music off the net, so i suggest you start looking for a new job cus your ship is sinking fast.

Answer 6

It is near impossible to totally stop music piracy- unless all the authorities come down real hard on people who download stuffs onto their PCs and stuff. but then again, you stop one site, another one pops up. It will turn into a round-the-bush chase.



The only reason it seems that musicians can be really upset by the whole piracy thing is that they wont get as much royalty as they would if everyone who listened to their song bought their original cds. but if you are talking about music appreciation- i dont think support for the musician is compromised at all. even without piracy, i dont really see musicians suffering because of it. in fact, they still are very much better off than us. they live in luxury, etc.



i bet that half of the audience in a rock concert download music illegally- not because they dont like the singer or show no support (why else would they spend hundreds for the concert?).



and so if i like 100 artistes, do i have to buy 100 cds? sometimes listeners like only particular songs from an artiste, so they dont see the point of buying the entire album. plus at 20 dollars, i would rather get myself a shirt, which i can wear more often than i tune in to that particular artiste's album.



it is really near impossible. i cant say i really support the stop piracy thing at times. people do have priorities. why cant musicians and the music companies themselves come up with a different approach to the whole matter? perhaps 20 dollars a month subscription to a website to access to millions of songs out there? that wont be too bad, aint it? I am very sure that musicians want to be supported for their music.

Answer 7

In my humble opinion, the problem can't be stopped. The proliferation of mp3s and the demand for mp3 and related music players has risen beyond control.



However, music piracy can be regulated through three iron measures. They are regular screening by the authorities for violaters, having penalties for music downloaders and public education.



1. The authorities regularly screen the internet pipeline for music pirates. They are doing an excellent job and many music pirates have been arrested in recent years. However, more could be done if the recording companies pump in extra resources to assist the police and relevant authorities to make their job more efficient. (Refer to sources 1 & 2)



2. Heavy penalties could be imposed for people who download music. The current penalties affect people who distribute music wilfully. (Refer to sources 1,2 &3) This measure has a feasibility issue as it is not possible for the government to monitor the actions of 4 million people easily. Moreover, it is a double-edge sword as people might be discouraged to listen to downloaded music. Singers might lose mass popularity and suffer further drop in album sales.



3. The best measure is still education. If pupils are educated from young that music piracy is wrong, the chances of them adhering to this message would be high. Schools and families have the responsibility to educate the right messages and values to the young. Educational videos could be screened in schools and other educational instituitions.(Refer to source 4)



In summary, regular screening by the authorities for violaters, having penalties for music downloaders and public education are all viable measures. Public education should be advocated as it will have a long and lasting effect to the solution.

Answer 8

songs albums should be cheaper. so that everyone can afford to support their idols.



another thing is because maybe in a particular album, only got one or two songs are nice. so if buying the whole album, it will be a waste of money. so people prefer to download. its convenient too.



well, one way is to ban! government loves to ban this and that.

Answer 9

I've gotten an iPod recently but that has intrigued me to buy even more CDs, I don't understand why some are saying that having an iPod tempts them to download more illegal files.



Well, personally, I think that for die-hard fans of a certain artist, the local labels could release CD Singles or EPs locally. I know domestically, most record labels seem to think that sales of CD singles have died down, but for die-hard who wishes to get remixes/rare stuff of their favourite artistes, who could they turn to? A helpless but realistic mean; Illegal downloads, of course. Look at the iTunes Store for example, it can only be used by users for certain countries. So what do the rest of us in Singapore do?



Well, as much as we know there's Soundbuzz that caters only to what you could get on the physical CD, (with no exclusive).



So, Legal Digital downloads VS Physical CD (lifetime backup ), Which will win? The Physical CD of course!



It may cost a lot for an artiste to cut and album, get it mixed, mastered, remixed and stuff. But seemingly, if prices are reduced (albeit CDs in Singapore are much cheaper compared to US/Europe), I'm sure it'll do the effort of pushing sales.



Universal Music Singapore had, in the last year launched certain made-in-Singapore titles, costing about $11.95 each. That made me buy the album for a track or 2, without any hesitation. Well, of course if it was priced at $18 and above, I would have think twice. (But a note to Universal Music, stop cutting costs! Do include the whole artwork in the package please!? Like Fergie's The Dutchess album , it doesn't even have a proper credits page. The producers do deserve the credits, y'know?!)



Oh, of course, judging by the responses that have been received, cutting down of prices does matter, to the general public, of course!

Answer 10

the point is why would someone want to purchase a cd worth approximately $20?? when 3 out of ten of the songs are things we wont want to listen to? that leaves us with only 7 songs to listen to.. therefore i feel that ppl dun want to purchase cd's bcos of its expensive cost... on the net (legally) u can get 1 song for just 10 cents... so that seven songs cost u 70 cents... so why would someone want to pay $20 when they can get something at a few cents???? that is what i feel..

Answer 11

Try these steps;



Make it easier and safer to find and download music legally for a reasonable fee. People who can afford iPods probably can afford a dollar or two to get their favourite music and keep their PCs virus free. You also save on CD and jacket printing costs. Apparently there is already a large music distribution channel that exists hence all this talk of piracy.



Educate people on the benefits of uncompressed music as opposed to compressed (mp3) formats. Let people download but make them buy the songs they really like on CD by telling them it sounds better than an MP3. I actually buy the songs that I really like so that I can listen to them on my hi-fi at home. CDs sound better than MP3s.



Use the music download scene to market and create awareness instead of whining about it. The increased sales from more people knowing about your band may offset whatever you lose to piracy. It's time to embrace the Internet!



Stop ripping people off! Is there any reason why I should have to pay $20 for an album out of which I only like 1 song? If you stop ripping people off, people may stop doing it to you.



In essence, roll with the punches. There's a new world out there, learn to take advantage of the opportunities available instead of fearing change.



And if all else fails, the number one way to stop music piracy is to stop making the music and disband. There won't be any music pirates if there's nothing to steal. Oh by the way, do you know any REALLY good bands that are poor?

Answer 12

Well, here is an idea. We do have Drink vending machines. How about Music vending machines? Where consumer like us could spare 2 dollars or so via a Search and Download vending Machine and Downloaded it on the go inside a Music store. I have listed a couple of reasons why this is favourable.



1) I probably guess probably most of us who use a computer have a thumbdrive. It is so common for us to have one or two thumbdrives along with us even on the go.



2)Company compressed all the album database into computerised formats. eg. MP3, ALAC, M4A. No hassle on converting all the CD into various format and plus point is you choose what you wanna buy. Instantly uploading into Portable Media Player with ease. Eg. IPOD, ZEN, ZUNE.



3)You probably need an online account to buy a song eg. credit card, paypal. Now you dont have to own any cards. You probably use the extra coins, dollars to purchase one or few songs off the store. Probably this are the coins you get in change from lunch which might seem heavy and probably worth offloading it in a good song, Physcologically Barrier in "embarassed to use coin for purchasing item" where you can use the coin with ease.



4) If Old songs are price cheaper and easily available. It would save many people the effort of searching online for that particular song and lot of broken link.



Of course, above is just an idea which is simplify by me. The issue of DRM, The issue of Royalty Fee, The cost of implementing this system etc etc. However, if this is make so convenient and cheap for all the consumers. It will not be a bad idea after all.

Answer 13

Firstly we try to understand the fans. Fans at one time or other, feel "cheated" after buying a whole album and they find only the cover song is nice while the others (except for maybe one or two more) is not so nice. Maybe record producers to blame here but that's another story.

Secondly the global successful musicians have given the small time muscians a bad name, by being extravagent in their lifestyle (it is actually their right) but most fans feel musicians earn enough and do not feel that they need to further support such lavish spending, hence fans (who obviously earn much much less) want to save their money by doing illegal downloading.

I think a way to stop illegal downloading is to make singles downloadable at a reasonable price and then enable a good (discounted) price for downloading the rest of the album. Also official website can share songs(shorten & radio quality version) with their fans so to encourage them to buy the original stuff fm CD shops or download the originals.

Lastly some radio adverts by local musicians in Singapore asking their fans to stop illegal downloading, sounded so arrogant & condescending that it's a total put off. Frankly we don't need such attitute from local musicians when most global successful already spell arrogance.

Thank you for asking.

Answer 14

Pricing has always been an issue for CDs, especially now that the prices of VCDs and even Code 1 DVDs have dropped significantly. I would say the recent LEP campaign is definitely a good start. In order for the music industry to survive, all the major record companies should consider a price reduction of perhaps a few dollars for normal edition albums. This is the most practical solution to deal with the problem at hand. For the record companies, there will be a profit issue but it is wiser to lose some profits than to lose all. You don't earn anything when music is downloaded illegally because it is FREE!

Answer 15

By giving the cosumers the flexiblity to buy the music or songs on the net. It's has to be afforadable like $0.99 $1.99 per song. If that is the price to buy the songs that I want, I would rather get the original instead of downloading it illegally. It's all about cost. I'm aware that there is a production cost, this and that... but at the end, if it is affordable and easy to obtain the orginal from the net that's matter. I agree with some that the original can sometimes be more expensive. If you want to combat piracy, combat them with attractive price. Would you rather lose sales or more sales with less profit?

Answer 16

hmm... what do you mean be 'let down'?



Do you know that there are prices of original cds (made in China) costing less than $8? Why are some of the original cds costing almost $20?



There will be less piracy only if the costs are lower. IMHO, I dun think there can be ZERO piracy at all... If there's a demand, there's a supply? We can only minimize piracy at most.

Answer 17

Piracy is one poison that has affected too many areas that I can't be stopped unless we reverse the technologies. Take away internet. Then from there we can look at the cost of music cds. Most of the time, the amount of tracks they give at that kinda price seems kinda steep to many and not really utilising the CD's capacity. Hence, even back to those days when internet isn't afforded by many, pirated CDs are still more popular as they comes with more tracks and much better customised towards the more popular songs of the singer.



However, this is very impossible as many would feel crippled without internet, just like handphone. Making you live at the age where even a pager is quite unaffordable would feel so difficult. So internet has to continue, but perhaps be more active over internet.



You can't really totally eliminate piracy, just minimise it. And to effectively minimising it, having harsher punishment for illegal downloads is important, and has to go with active arresting of such criminals. With this, you provide legalised download sites which is competitive. Wider selection of songs than any piracy sites, faster download speeds, and most importantly at cost that makes piracy a risk not worth taking, certainly looking at below $1.

Answer 18

It's all a matter of money so it should help to cut down the prices for CDs and downloads. Music industry really does everything for its "Can't get enough" image so people get bored by all the complaints and moaning. I mean... a writable CD here in Germany incl. box is about 50 Eurocent, a maxi single about 6 Euro and albums come by 13 to 17 Euro. This gives you the feeling there's 12,50 to 16,50 that can be shared among the artists (let's say 10 to 15 because of the booklet), music industry and shops at EACH CD which really should be enough, no matter if 10,000 or 100,000 copies are sold. No reasons for moaning at all.



Then we come to downloads - 99 cents to 1,49 Euro! If we put 12 to 16 songs together for an album that's even MORE than buying a real CD and you don't get a box nor a booklet but some proper copy protection which fools your old MP3 player.



Believe me: Half prices might still lead to 50 percent more overall profit, think about it!

Answer 19

Simple answer really. Just reduce the cost of a CD. The cost of a CD should be lower now as the technology to make these CDs is so much more better and so the cost of producing the CDs should be greatly reduced by now. But till now, the costs of buying a CD has largely remains the same for the past few years. If a pirated CD can sell for so cheap, I am pretty sure that the record companies can also do it since they are large corporations.



Also the royalties and the money being paid to artistes should be reduced as well and this reduction can be use to reduce the cost of the CD for the buying public. If all these artistes are not prepared to settle for a lower money or royalties, then don't blame the buying public for downloading illegally or buying pirated CDs. Majority of the public do not earn much and want to save as much as they could. The price of a CD may not seems like much to these highly paid artistes but it means a lot to the b uying public.

Answer 20

Personally, I would encourage my friends and family to NOT support music piracy. It's a given though, that that would not stop music piracy. The technology is there, we cannot fight it. Record companies will have to realize that and change their system, instead of expecting the world to stop changing just for them. They should work at lowering the prices of CDs and ensuring that all or majority of songs in albums they release are of high quality and worth listening to. A lot of CDs these days have only 1 or 2 nice songs and the rest are just fillers. I would just rather buy the 2 songs that I like at $0.99 each off the iTunes Music Store than shell out $15-$20 for the complete album. But if an artist I like comes out with an album with 10 songs that I truly enjoy, I would go out and buy that album.

Answer 21

Basically illegal downloads means loss of revenue to musicians and recording companies. Let's face it, this is the truth. Another truth is that technology is man-make, there will be locks and people who can unlock them.



May i suggest just pass a law to bring the offenders to court and fine them a million dollars. Then at the same time, increase the price of CD's to 100 US dollars. This way, more people will be motivated to do illegal downloadings. The more offenders, the more millions in fines for both the musicians and recording companies.



Just catching 1 offender will off-set so many cases of lost revenue. Isn't this the perfect solution?



Thanks. Now we just have to wait for the music industry to arm-twist the government.

Answer 22

It is almost impossible to prevent illegal downloads on the internet or digital copying of any digital content.



So the way to stop music piracy is not to stop music piracy.What I mean is you cannot go on catching everyone who is illegally downloading or copying music.And it costs alot to catch one.And it costs alot to prosecute one and sometimes you cannot claim much from a poor downloader.



So to stop music piracy we can lower the price of a music CD to say, USD $3 per original CD.If the price of an original CD is cheap, why would anyone want to copy or download illegally? Furthermore, the music industry has made their millions from the music. So it is time to give it back to the consumer who has contributed or fattened the bellies of these people.



Next, we can impose an usage tax or usage payment tax on all computers or CD copiers capable of copying digital content. Why collect toll rather than collecting a high road tax or vehicle ownership tax from the driver?Then the payment of ownership tax can be channeled to finance the music industry.



Alternatively, if locking up the intellectual digital content is too important, then by all means use the best digital locks possible, but do not go around hunting for the thief or the buyer of stolen goods because it is simply virtually impossible or too tedious to catch one.

Answer 23

Back when Metallica was complaining about Napster, I can understand. It was TOO easy, and it was the "cool" thing to do, to go online and download a song, instead of going out and wasting your money on an entire CD for maybe 1 or 2 songs that you like. So I have no problem with them fighting piracy... it should be illegal... but for bands that come out today, newer bands, they should be thanking these guys.... it's probably the main way that there music was heard in the first place. Many people probably wouldn't have bought there album, therefore, never had heard the band, therefore, never had gone to their concerts. Also, the music industry gets a huge amount of the album sales. It was the fortunate few that would get a majority of money from album sales, in part due to having paid the price, like Metallica who probably didn't get a majority of there first few album sales. After there contract ran out, they probably signed a new one and had leverage to get most of the album sales. The stupid thing that is going on, is allowing people to purchase only 1 song off iTunes or other online sites. This is why sales are down. People are buying the 1 song they like, and the other songs are not being purchased. So, instead of someone paying $18 for a CD, they pay $1 for the one song they like. DUH!!!! Now, I'm not saying that this isn't a cool thing. I love being able to purchase 1 song at a time, because most bands do not take the time to make a complete album, and they end up having to put "filler" songs on the album... which is due to the pressures of the record labels. What they should do, is just start making 3-5 song albums and package them as just that..... you must buy the full album. It's a lot easier to chew if you're gonna spend $3 to $5 on an album, rather than $10 for something you "might" not even like. THEN, after the initial release, say, after 3 months, change it to be able to download each individual track. The initial release of the album will get hardcore fans to pay the $3-$5 to get the songs now. Then the people who can wait, will eventually buy the songs. If they're going to pirate the songs, they're going to do it no matter what. Also, a lot of kids don't have access to credit cards or ATM cards, and they're the ones who buy music. I use to save my lunch money to buy a CD. I didn't have an ATM card when I was 16, so I would have to ask my Dad, who didn't want to put his card out over the internet. So, they need to make music more accessable to kids who don't have access to credit cards. At this time, you release another 3-4 songs in another package. Then allow individual downloads after another 3 months. Then, release the final 3-4 songs on the album and do the same thing. It keeps a steady stream of music flowing from your band, keeping your name in the minds of your fans, which keeps them coming to your Tours. THEN, and this is the genius part, you release a 4th album with ALL the previously released tracks packaged together as one. Package them into a DVD with a free sticker, with live concert footage. Also, on the CD, you can even add live tracks and even save a couple extra tracks that were not released on the previous 3 CD's that you put online. So yeah, they need to stop whining and figure out a different marketing strategy. It's not about money, but to some, it is... because most music today isn't even art.

Answer 24

Why downloading is so attractive? No all songs in one album are nice. So, downloading makes it easy for one to choose those songs that one likes.

1) The music companies should spend less on advertising and packaging the albums, focus on the quality of the songs and make their albums more affordable. If fans want to see and hear their musicians live, charge higher for the concerts. Promote 'you were at the concert' where fans get to be video cam with their idols and appear in the VCDs/DVDs, so they can share the good memories and maybe would help to promote and support genuine music;

2) Allow legitimate downloading, of course, pay for the downloading.

Answer 25

I think we should adopt the iTunes Store way of selling the music. Firstly, iTunes Store gives you the choice of buying either a album or a particular song from the album, but in Singapore, you have to buy the album to get the song you want which i feel is a little ridiculous. Secondly, if you only buy the song you want from iTunes Store, it may cost you only S$1.20, which is so affordable then if you have to buy an album which may cost you S$19.95 and you only want that particular song. See the difference. The only thing you could do now is to propose to the government to pass a legislation or a law that will allow us to buy music online because under the Singapore Law, we are not allowed to do that and so we have to try another alternative to get the songs we want which is to get it illegally. So i hope the laws can be change to counterattack piracy. About DRM, it should not be embedded into the song cause we bought the songs and we should be allowed to do whatever we want to it eg. sending it to someone,etc. I suggest that the distributors of the songs or albums could create a software which can restrict the distribution to the person who got the song from the person who bought it and that's there. The person who got the song from the person who bought it does not have the capbilities to distribute it. The software will need to identify the computers identity before proceeding with the distribution.

Answer 26

Personally, what makes me buy a cd is its packaging. For example I would definitely find a cd worth buying if an MV cd is included. Other reasons for me buying it is to show the support for my favourite artistes.



However, I do not think that music piracy will cease. It is not a matter of nabbing the people who download it but more of a spreading the knowledge of why it is wrong.



Firstly, it is free, & many of the people who listen to new artistes are mainly teenagers with a tight budget, where that $20 can get them alot of stuff that is more practical for them.



Secondly, the local stores in Singapore do not really offer a wide range of music. Instead, the stores offer more of what I would consider pop culture. Many Singaporeans appreciate music that is produced by Indie(independant) bands & even other languages such as Japanese & Korean. However, like I said, due to this lack in variety, online downloads often make it much easier to obtain these rare albums



Thirdly, some songs do not exist in the market anymore. Oldies perhaps? Especially good love songs, which can't easily be found & we have a sudden desire to listen to it. It seems impractical to buy one entire cd just for one song. Worse, the song might not even exist in stores anymore.



I'm in favor of the ITUNES store set up by Apple, but it is not available in Singapore. Select songs can be downloaded at just mere cents which will appeal to the public. However, the payment can only be done through online transactions, which may not appeal to the younger generation as most of them are unapplicable for a debit/credit card till the age of 16/18. Moreover, the ITUNES store is like a giant library, many song genres can be found there at the ease & comfort of your own home rather than being out in Orchard doing CD hunting which can be tedious & frustrating at times.

Answer 27

Make the original CD cheaper. It is too expensive now. Music companies have to face the truth. Gone are the "good and easy" money. Now music companies earn money not solely through album sales but concerts, advertisement and other channels. So they should keep their artistes popular by reducing CD price so their artistes can have concerts etc.. Another way should be make the packaging nicer, throw in some freebies such mv DVD and collectibles to make people feel the money spend is worth well. I feel now a CD should not cost more than US$7. This explains why in Asia, China made legal CD are so popular as fans want to buy legal stuffs and at the same time want the CD price to be low.

Answer 28

I just think that the price of a cd is simply too expensive.



Furthermore, in some cases we don't like ALL the songs in an album.



Downloading the songs individually is also too costly.



Don't forget alot of music listeners are students. Where do they get the $$$ to buy all these cds and download legally? They don't work.



And not all working adults who support music has high income. There are so many other more necessary areas which they need to spend their $$.



eg. handphone bills, insurance, food, and some need to pay rent etc.



I think lowering the price of albums etc would improve the situation of illegal downloads. PEACE.

Answer 29

It may seem a defeatist attitude, but it doesn't seem to me that there is much more to be done in the fight against music piracy. On one hand, I think we've taken a lot of positive action with online music retail in the vein of Apple's iTunes Music Store, because it's allowing a legal alternative to those who only wanted select songs from an album, but the problem of piracy goes a lot deeper than that.



Rather than finding some action to take in order to reduce online piracy, I think the much more pertinent question would concern changing the mindset of those who illegally obtain music. Honestly, though, that seems a task in and of itself. Personally, I think the best solution to pursue would be offering some sort of incentive content to those who genuinely purchase music, but sadly, anything in a digital format is equally likely to be pirated.



No matter how you look at it, artists and labels stand to take a significant loss from any sort of piracy, With most of the possible solutions I've heard, such as discounted concert rates with legal album purchase, etc. all seem to do little more than trade the problem around on a balance sheet, but I suppose it's a problem to be tackled one step at a time.



At the end of the day, though, I think there's a good foundation already in place by popularizing online music retail systems, it's just a matter of finding out the trick that will prompt illegal downloaders to use them.

Answer 30

Let's face it.

Aren't we getting too ambitious here?

Alright here's 3 ways you can stop music piracy which there's no way it's gonna work but hell,for the sake of fun right?

1)Ban site which allows you to download software that allows you to download audio

2)Stop making good music.Start producing trash for the 3rd generation.

3)Sell music cds at a cheaper price thurrr!

Answer 31

DUH, Mine's an easy solution, but will definitely cause a ruckus in the whole world. Like pirated music, the originals should be 'free'(seem free actually). The costs should instead be directed in a more indirect manner(quite a hassle really). 1) Sign agreements with ALL countries to increase the GST by 0.1 to 0.3%. This amt will be made payable to music companies by the various country leaders. (Use them or not, ppl will still pay...which actually leads to more pay cause more ppl will download...hmmmm....*deep in thought*)



2) Although the numbers of ppl downloading will undoubtedly increase (leading to lesser payout for music companies, artists), I really do feel that such music comapnies and artists get too high a salary, reason being they're famous. Such jobs should really get salaries that are comparable to other lines of work. They are over-paid!! While many people dwell under the scorching sun, these people and living under conditions fit for a king. A little reduction in salary wouldn't burn holes in their pockets. I repeat, artists are getting more than what their products are worth.



3) I've mentioned this above(if you read between the lines)--- reduce the pricing of music. Those CDs are not worth paying 10 bucks for.

Answer 32

Finding other methods to generate money from music

beside cd sales and downloads.

examples include - movie sound tracks and music inside

of new video games and phone ringtones.

releasing special versions of songs or custom versions.



music piracy will never go away yet money can still be made

other ways from the same music.



There will always be ways around copy protections

Answer 33

The music industry is already going down, and you people still want them to make their original albums cheaper?



So first answer WHY is it so 'expensive'? (I don't find it expensive that's why I use "")

Due to the piracy problem, record companies input many extras into a album to make it attractive to consumers. For the very fact that some albums has real nice packagings (like hard boxes). Some has many added stuff like Mini photo albums, very nice and good quality lyric books, sometimes they come with Books or even added DVDs!

All these costs. Not to mention the Designing price that is unseen by many.



Yes it is no doubt production cost for a CD is very low. But have you guys put yourself in shoes of a Designer who does all those nice packagings and added incentives? Or the pay for those people behind the scenes like the photographers? Song writers? make-up artistes?



Definately the Singers make more money that consumers who buy their music. But isn't this 'money making job' very attractive to many? That is also why many teenagers yearn to be STARS - to be famous, to earn more and have their own music albums published. Ever thought how much they have sacrificed (like their own privacy and personal lives) to become an artiste?



If we only look at the cost in producing one single CD. Then of course Pirated albums are cheaper because they do not need to pay for all those people behind the scenes neither do they need to pay for copyrights! Think about it another way, if no one support those working hard behind the scenes, who would put in effort to produce a good album? If there isn't a good album, which stupid pirate would care to even pirate it?

End up? NO MUSIC ALBUMS PRODUCED.



Yeap no doubt internet is a good way to market yourself as an individual singer who doesn't belong to any company. Then TRY producing a full music album yourself.



Stopping music piracy is impossible without changing people's mindset and direction of thinking. Buying music albums do not only pay the singers but also people behind the scenes. Buying an album is a form of supporting the artiste and supporting the music industry.



However, if consumers want Record companies to make their albums cheaper, first think if you will be happy buying music albums with only a cheap Jewel box and a plain CD inside. NO Incentives like lyrics book, or nice album cover, not to even mention any packaging. Then yes! Maybe you can get that for.... $5? (at least pay for the copyright)



Bottomline. Technology is the culprit. no one complained music albums were expensive when there wasn't internet isn't it? Because now pirated albums and illegal mp3 are surfacing, consumers tend to compare hence complaining that original albums are expensive. Logical?

Answer 34

i think reason of piracy is because most people cannot afford the expensive on-the-shelves album/cd's.One thing that I can suggest is, since the net is the source of free illegal downloads, why not make more websites to sell music onlines with MUCH cheaper price.Promote these websites coz even if you sell one song for a dollar, your potential customers on the net is like 1 million each day (eg), whilst if you sell a cd in the shop ,each day the shop might be able to sell 2-3 cd's of that singer/album. When you have the net,you can get massive market potential.so if u sell it at much cheaper price, people will be less hesitant to buy a legal copy.To stop music piracy 100% is difficult i think.If you still can make more money by selling at cheaper price but be able to be bought by much much larger audience, then piracy r no piracy, u guys in the music industry still can make loads of money...its a win-win situation.

Answer 35

Make their albums cheaper, I mean, way cheap say, like $5 for an original CD. Yes, this will reduce their earnings significantly, but real musicians make music because they love it, not for the money. And anyway, all these so-called musicians are earning way too much already... until they have too much money that they spend on drugs and partying. Why should we fork out so much for a CD for them to waste the money?If the music is good, they will sell more CDs if they market cheaper. Otherwise, people will not stop downloading.

Answer 36

Everyone is a software pirate; there's hardly anyone I know who doesn't illegally download music.

There is no way to stop music piracy; you could do is reduce it. Ways to do it, would be to offer more 'incentives' for purchasing the music, perhaps by entering all customers into a prize draw to win free tickets to see the band.

Putting a negative taint on music piracy would seem only to encourage more people to do it, as the majority of young music fans like to rebel. The youth are smart enough to know that the music companies are screwing their bands anyway. Commercial music is on its way out, while real honest and talented bands will come into the limelight, and fans will genuninely support their work with donations.

Answer 37

Actually Music Piracy Actually Makes The Artiste More Popular, that the listener would usually buy maybe his favourite band's shirt or merchandise and would want to go to their favourite band's concert .. So In A Way Music Piracy Isn't 100% bad.. Its Not Like Artistes are Dying Because Of Starvation coz they have no money..they just earn abit less .. So Stop Whining

Answer 38

It's all business. If your primary concern is about "stoping piracy" as a music record company, lower your price of your CD that is so low, that people who solely using internet just to download music feel it is actually more reasonable to buy your CD than paying high speed internet monthly fee. If you don't think many people use internet just to download music, well you are done. People calculate, at least that is what Singaporeans do. Students have access to internet in schools, office workers have access to internet at work. No one really need that high speed internet that badly (unless they play a lot of online games).

Answer 39

I think downloading music is great! I've discovered so many artist and now when I buy Cds I get what I want!. Make sure the consumer knows what their buying. Be like iTunes! Let us sample music before we buy it. I really hate buying a CD and only getting one good track on it. A hit song for you may be trash for the next guy.



Also I think you should stop producing CDs. It's been a year since I've seen anyone use a CD player lol.

Answer 40

The problem is with the music industry itself. First I hate paying for a cd that last me only 4 plays before becoming scratched or damaged. They just do not hold up well. The music industry needs to market more product via legal downloads. It is also frustrating to buy a cd and have only one decent song on it. Another pet peeve is I do not listen to mainstream music. I have to go to internet radio to find what i listen too. We are fed up with brittany spears and teen stars with little talent slinging Tand A to sell their songs. I want to be able to go to a music store 3d or online and find enigma, deep forest, robbie robertson, native american music and much more. It just is not widely available. I have been turned on to new taste in music by people who have shared with me. I would appreciate a try it feature where i can listen to a piece of music before i buy. This often entices me to try and buy new things. When i buy music i want to know i can use it more then a few times. That it will alst on my computer. I can transfer what i purchased to a music media player and more. I am an artist and writer so i certainly understand wanting to get paid for what you do. I just feel the music industry is not working in your best interest.

Answer 41

First,cut down the price of a cd.Cut the price so low that it's cannot be lower.I know it's a cut in income of the music producers,singer n all staff.So what to do?The package of the cd,just normal packing like those of china import.Cut down on promotions also lor.This way u save unnecessary expensure.Promote the song only on radio.If they like the music,they go buy from cd store.This way more people in record company may think it's "bo tang" business.But treat it as for the love of music lor.Surely at least got earn a bit one.

Answer 42

Well, the world is a very realistic & practical place, ultimately, it voices down to what we call S11 aka $$...



Although pirated CD carries certain amount of 'risks' (such as unclear recording, missing/unfinish tracks, error printing on cover etc..) occansionally, the price consumers paid for is less than half of the original, if you are just a normal person with an average income(which majority of the world population are), would you choose pirated copies or original??



In my humble opinion, it doesn't need to match their selling price, but if the selling price is near piracy prices, then I'm sure most people will be more than willing to buy original copies...likewise goes to the I.T. industries!



2 Cents Worth ya..

Answer 43

There isn't really anything you can do about it. Piracy as in music downloading will not only exist but will grow together with rapid progression of multimedia technology. Thank god for the creation of MP3 Players and illegal MP3 downloading. Music industry has been ripping us common folks long enough with overcharging price of CDs. Remember guys, Musicians do not only can make a living out of selling CDs. The production houses are the one who is taking all the profits. A true musician do not feel "let down" by this. If these musicians are in fact feeling "let down", maybe they do not meant to be musician in this era anyway. Stop over-commercialism in the music industry. Dont let creativity gets clouded by individual profitability. Let them play freely and FUDGE THE CORPORATE WORLD !!!

Answer 44

I wish musicians would stop pissing and moaning over this issue. Even with all the downloading, they seem to be living their life of glamorous excess. Do you see Justin Timberlake in the welfare line? I think not. For the amount of "work" musicians do, they're lucky they they can make ends meet, let alone expect to be the richest people in the world. I say the piracy will live forever, careers won't. Eat my ***.

Answer 45

"Music Piracy" had been around since audio cassettes had been in use in 1970s.It been 30 years and no one can stop it. And if the musicians are feeling "let down", they have been feeling down for the past 30 years. The only way to stop this is banning of all recordable medias + internet avaialble to the public. Only commercial companies should own recordable CDs,mems etc which will not happen.

Answer 46

The pricing. Students from an average family find it hard to afford. Although I'm working now, but sometimes spending on CD for just that few songs isn't worth it. My salary isn't high, and I'm paying for my university education, and paying off my brother's and my high school loan. I have to contribute to the family as well. With the bills I'm paying, that leaves me with even lesser amount left each month.



I support the original version, so usually I will have to choose to give up buying on any of the CDs. If I can afford the CDs I like, I do not have to tune to the radio to hope that I can catch the songs I love to listen.

Answer 47

Yes you can stop music piracy if you are prepared to risk many other important things. Abolish the Internet and stop manufacturing MP3 Players. Place a ban on using MP3 Players. There will be a Global Chaos but at least you'll achieve your aim of stopping music piracy. Also, a piece of CD shouldn't cost so much, right?

Answer 48

I think there should be a website, that let us download music for a small fee for per song. Sometimes we download only one or two music from a album, so instead of buying the whole album, we download it at the Internet. The album is too expensive, sometimes cost around $14++. Try to make the prices lower and we will stop downloading pirated music from the net.

Answer 49

to be realistic, as long as there are well known illegal downloading sites, the plague will continue. make it an international law and close down all known illegal downloading sites or force them to clean up like you did napster.



to be realistic again, downloadng a song is relatively easy, major record companies should stop seeing the internet as an enemy but as a close friend, for music downloading is here to stay, it will either be legal or illegal, its really their choice, by staying away they are indirectly fuelling online music piracy. they should instead invest in the development of a software (if there isnt one already) that will facilitate the selling of digital music and prevent any illegal pilfering.

Answer 50

I don't think you can ever stop it. However, there may be measures that can be taken to reduce it, e.g.



1. Drop the price of CDs to rock-bottom except for special editions that come autographed/personalised copies.



2. Offer downloads at ridiculously low prices like 30 cents a pop (must join a virtual music club - pay membership fees but receive e.g. 10 free downloads).



3. Create loyalty programmes - the more you buy, the cheaper the cost or X number of free downloads per month.



4. Create member-get-member schemes. Introduce a new member get X number of free downloads (provided new member signs up and pays).



5. Members can buy "tickets" that entitle them to buy X number of titles real cheap.



6. Create a custom CD service where members can choose what songs they want to put in a CD and pay a nominal fee for the CD to be mailed to them.

Answer 51

In my opinion, to stop music piracy one-way is to charged them the same amount like buying the artist cd.That way it depend on the so called fans whether to support his/her favourite artist.At the same time those who want to download must registered with terms and conditions stated by the website itself.Imposed a hefty fine and jail term for offenders cos this is consider stealing.I'm not a musician but as a person, please do respect others property.Thanks.

Answer 52

The way to stop piracy is free music. Free music from the chains of corporate profiteering evil. Come up with perks that fans will gladly pay along with downloading the music instead. This is the new age. Stop wasting time with this stupid old age way of doing business. Don't let the uncreative so-called marketing/business people with degrees that worth less than the printed paper control your life...

Answer 53

I don't think that downloading is a bad thing because a lot of times people can't buy the album but still like the music. Music is a form of art where the artists can express themselves or ideas. Its made to be listened to and enjoyed. People are just trying to do that.

Answer 54

Try to sale the music more cheaper than the piracy.By do that ,may be the buyers prefer the original than the piracy and the piracy get brooke and than will doing another jobs

Answer 55

I always purchase my music because I am a musician and I support artists. What people need to know is how do they expect their artists they enjoy listening to to keep making great music if they are not earning any money. There needs to be a tv program on it. Music is so much different now in the digital age than when people bought albums on vinal. My parents said besides radio and live performances that was how we listened to music you either had to purchase it of borrow it from a friend.

Answer 56

i think alot of your points are valid. y pay more? y pay for unnecessary fillers instead of singles? y pay for an original cd that we will rip anyway. but the fact remains the music industry is driven by profit. driving legal online downloads is surely the way forward but c'mon guys, we know ppl download illegally anyway. If im a muso and i know my music is getting ripped off , i will be pretty pissed. 2 wrongs dont make a right, if the record labels collapse how many bands are gonna bother going on myspace? most bands go on myspace to GET SIGNED by record labels!!!



i think we all right to say the physical cd is dying, but i dont believe ripping singles / albums off torrents or p2p is justifiable. plus call me old fashioned, but i remember buyin an album for 1 single and enjoying the album for what it was. hidden gems, hidden tracks etc. y know only the singles when there is so much more in an album. i'm a huge fan of digital downloads on sound buzz but it still feels great to buy a cd!

Answer 57

If the prices wasn't so steep. I guess everyone would buy the original. The ever growing living standards has forced people to resort such means of obtaining the downloads.



Why deprive the poor not able to enjoy the music the artists has created ? Education would lead everyone to the right path. Isn't we receive education as part of life growing up ?



Once a particular product/service is reasonably affordable by all, most would be willing to part with it. Without guilty conscious of course.

Answer 58

Just reduce the price of the CD ! People buy pirated CD because of their attractive price . And why do they need to have remorse feeling ? Those musicians out there are still earning millions of big bucks every month despite of piracy !

Answer 59

Make it easy for people to purchase music online. And allow them to play their purchased music on any device they may own.



Every piece of music purchased should come with the lyrics and artwork, to add a pseudo-tangibility element to the purchases.



I think building 'band loyalty' is crucial, as bands tour and play to larger audiences around the world, as downloads can be truly international in reach. Maybe even concerts can be streamed live for a fee!

Answer 60

There is no way to stop piracy. The only thing you can reduce it by making music more affordable - who can resist "free" music?. On the other hand piracy helps as more folks will listen to the music although that is wrong way to do it.



At least now that is an alternative to get cheaper legal stuff - Those made for china market disc which is parallel imported into here.

Answer 61

Well, there is only one thing worthwhile doing... Rally against the music companies that price music so high... This is the one factor that hugely instigates piracy...



As a fact, there is no way to stop piracy entirely... You can put 110 people in jail or 220... Piracy will still prevail...



Conviction can only win minds... Inspiration alone can win hearts... Minds are fickle... So, no point in convincing people with fear to abstain from piracy... Instead, lower the prices and inspire them to legally purchase music... In time, piracy will reduce...

Answer 62

Unfortunately, it can't be stopped. There will always be someone who will find a way to download music illegally. All you can do is be an honest person yourself and go out of your way to purchase albums legitimately. By doing this you will also encourage your friends and family to act in the same responsible way. All we can do is be honest lah!

Answer 63

I definitely don't care about music piracy.



I haven't done it since i was fifteen (about 9 years ago) but i still think it's ridiculous.



from an artists point of view, it's up to them to harness the internet and use it as a tool rather than a weapon or achilles heel



many bands have no serious problems stemming from piracy because they're proactive and arent morons.

Answer 64

Well before i would have said that people need to stop it, but now i'd say, i dont see anything wrong with it.



Because:

Music in stores costs money.

And what if you don't have the money, but you want that song...i see nothing wrong with using limewire or kazaa.

I use limewire, and its not as if i dont pay for all my music. I've bought CDs, but i dont have extra money to spare.

If i hear a song and i want it, i download it.

I don't see why not.

Obviously it is not a very good profit for music makers, but even if you try to stop it, and ban limewire and other music downloaders people will just make new ones.

:]

Answer 65

Publicise, popularise, make cool and convenient the use of



1) Legal download libraries that charge only abt $0.20 a song - there are some really fantastic Russian ones but only for English tunes, can someone share link to a fast and good Asian music site?



2) Legal download joints - can place them at bus interchanges, shopping malls much like Neoprint machines and can download using Infra, Bluetooth to laptops, hps or USB to portable players. Maybe deck them nicely like a cafe corner, savour snacks and drinks while browsing n waiting for buses, frens...same thing applies to ringtones, wallpaper, themes downloads.



Make them as funky and accessible possible as we're mostly appealing to teens and youths - play up on the cool factor, get celebs to endorse n lead by example n flash their vids on the browser screens



As long as u make it hassle-free, cheap, blazing fast download speed n let them personalise their music albums by only selecting the songs they like and perhaps even offer seamless service of cutting that tune into a ringtone (at extra cost) it should entice :)



The challenge is getting all music labels to work together, pool their music, work out logistics and then be prepared for the demise of physical CDs...

Answer 66

to stop ppl illegal download of music is near to 0%... but make lessees ppl illegal download of music the % is higher. what they can do is lower down the selling price of the legitimately album until it reach to $2 ~ $3 per CD or per show.



In this world, not much ppl willingly to pay $10~$60 to buy 1 legitimately album CD or DVD show just for 1 song they're looking for or just watch one time of the show.

Answer 67

music piracy cant be stopped as people will still want the free songs instead of buying it. Only true fans of the musicians will buy the album. Or people who support original cds will buy original cds.

Answer 68

Make CDs cheaper to buy. And make music singles available via the internet at cheaper prices. I hate buying the whole CD when I only like one song. This is why sites like iTunes, Soundbuzz are so popular.



I also like sites such as Finetune.com which allows you to create playlists and listen to music without downloading them. I sampled many songs and find that I like them, so I ended up buying the CDs of some of them e.g. Joss Stone, John Mayer etc.

Answer 69

I don't particularly care if it stops or not. I buy music from Itunes and am ok with paying a buck for a song I want instead of 10 or 15 dollars for a whole album that may only have a few good songs on it. There are very few artists that have produced an album where I really want every song anyway. Besides that, there are bigger fish to fry.

What would I do to stop ignorance?

What would I do to stop rape?

What would I do to stop racism or hate crimes?

What would I do to stop acid rain?

What would I do to stop Bush?

What would I do to stop poaching?

What would I do to stop litter?

What would I do for cleaner air and H2O?

Answer 70

a) Most albums are not that good, they might have 1-2 nice songs but that wouldn't persuade me to buy an album.



b) I wouldnt pay for downloads because they are restricted in the medium they play and also what if my computer crash?



c) If I really like the album/artist I will buy it. Wouldnt you say that illegal downloading is like listening to the radio?



d) The artists should stop complaining, they are already bloody rich... make them all live in a 3rd world country with no luxuries and they will learn to be content. Make the cds cheaper.



e) Have attractive & interesting packaging

Answer 71

How abt trying to convince those big music companies to stop selling their products so expensive ??? $20 for a cd is pretty expensive i think ..moreover ppl who buy them most often are usually young ppl without much cash to spare ! .... and oh yeah it will be gr8 if we r able to listen to the full song ( not ripping it off ! ) at their offical sites , so as we know if its worth buying ! ..I truely believe that it takes 2 hands to clap , so instead of simply pinpointing to a person for their wrong doing , it will be gd to understand why they r doing it so as to recify the situation . If not it will be most saddening to view a day without new music creation, and or ppl not interested in music anymore....

Answer 72

There is no way to stop music piracy totally, it's become part and parcel of life already . too many new songs and artises around. only a few nice "music" that's why ppl pirate it.

Making music has ever becoming more easy with the technology nowaday. what i foresee is that more music companies merging up and the breeding of new artise to satisfy the market. Music companies have to think of other ways to market their singers. not only through the selling of CDs.

Answer 73

for people how want to post thier music online without it being downloaded, so they can sell albums you can go to http://www.acidplanet.com and get an account.

NOW, what would I do...I'd hack thie site and shell a virus or tracker into the site and make the files corrupt(I should do the whole page) for that matter. or I could mount a chain on the site.

People think that hacking is a bad thing, but in reality you may hack your own computer and find violating software or trojans. I'm fixxing my moms computer by hacking into a trojan that snuck on N.A.S.. Even the government 'll hire you if your good at hacking.

Answer 74

I think Digital Rights Management (DRM) can cripple a song sooo badly that a user might prefer to download a pirated version that they can play and use on all of their players, rather than buy a song they can only use on just their iPod and can't burn to a CD to listen to elsewhere, like in the car.



DRM doesn't stop hardcore pirates, or those with a bit of tech savvy, who can just download a song and re-encode the audio output to a new, DRM-free file. It just annoys legitimate users - particularly less tech-savvy ones - and makes them think about other ways of getting their music that are unencumbered and less annoying - like buying a CD and ripping the tracks themselves, which basically results in non-DRM digital files anyway.

Answer 75

Music piracy is like a spreading virus whereby it spread extremely quick.there no turning back into stopping illegal downloading and the reason?Technology yes blame the technology dun blame the human that downloading a song.Its that human ITSELF created all this software,that created another thing into downloading illegal music over the net.Blame the Sophiscated technology human have created nowadays.100% no such thing as stop illegal downloading.can you promise me 100% there wont be any illegal download in future?

Answer 76

Now there's a legal music downloading portal(soundbuzz etc.)Encourage them to have a preview of the particular song,if they want, request them to buy album from Music stores,Add additional protection to prevent IP infringement...For me,I Buy original albums after listening to radio stations.Despite it is expensive,But it's worth it,cos it's the Artistes Product and also the crew's backstage jobs and hard works...with months of planning and production

Answer 77

put more extras into the cd, like vcd/cd combo packs and the lyrics to the songs or just cool pictures and album art on the inside. musicians get rich by doing what they love. so fans just feel that the're over-paid and a one or too downloads isn't hurting anyone.

Answer 78

I think the majority of the public are not a strong avid on any particular singer. They are not willing to spend money to buy an ablum. Therefore, they prefer to download illegally on the net. And with the new invention of i pod, this makes its favourable for the public to download more songs.



Downloading music is " illegal" But the public seems to neglect the word "illegal" and unaware it is a crime. Due to light punishment is given for downloading illegal music. If someone is caught, they will be punished with small fine and case closed.



In the news, we alway hear that heavy punishment will be given to illegal downloading. However, we never seen or heard in the news that someone is serious offend due to illegal downloading of music.



Recently, there was a case over stealing wireless from the user. And the user suited the person from stealing wireless. This new has caught the public attention. And I believe this reduce the number of public from stealing.



In my opinon, someone must be heavily punished and put on the news. This will arouse the awarness from the public and the word "illegal" will be rooted to their brain.

Answer 79

1) Trojan attack all those websites that gives free download



2) Instead of selling cds or dvds, people will buy a one-time keycode use to download the artist's songs from the website. Registration of one's id card is a must at buying point and the id info will be locked with the keycode. Each song will be encrypted with the same keycode and if people pirate it, they will face consequences.



Just an idea....

Answer 80

You know i have an MP3 player and i always download music from the computer...but i feel guilty =( but if there's many people downloading from the Internet (which many people do ) we can close down all the website which can download music and whoever downloads music illegally, will be fined or jailed for example =)

Answer 81

Give music free.. or make lesser from making music.. Music artistes all started with a passion, later become less passionate but more into money making. The world in in post modern era now, no industry stays the same. Same for the music industry..

Answer 82

make the price of music cheaper. simple.

as it is consumers are paying for all the publicity - the prints on the cd /dvd covers (which costs money), the huge houses that artistes stays in and paying for their glamourous life styles. and what do these consumers get in return? lets be pragmatic about it. eveyone wants / needs money but if only one could give up a little then piracy would end. perhaps it's the music companys' that's making all the money?

Answer 83

Music is free for all. Why should it be reserved only to people who pay for it?



Perhaps, in the near future, only the rich can enjoy music. Poor commoners like us can only listen things which they "bestowed" upon us or else secretly listen to them in fear of being arrested.



Have you heard of "copyleft"? It is a way of using the copyright laws to ensure that every person who receives a copy of a work has the same rights to study, use, modify, and also redistribute both the work and derived versions of the work (Wikipedia). This sounds like the true spirit of an artiste/inventor to me.

Answer 84

Lower your prices. There is something in human nature which prohibits us going the wrong way if things are fair.



Right now you are blatantly profiteering and it serves you right that you are being ripped off.



if you have the guts why dont you tell us how much it costs to make a CD?

Answer 85

I would encode all on-line music files with an encryption that could only be decrypted using a specific anti-pirating program purchased through a host on-line music source. Only if your computer has the de-encrypting software will you be able to legally download music.

Answer 86

How to stop it? Well, really, it's easy. MAKE SONGS CHEAPER for the average man to download. IN SIngapore , $1.60 per song is expensive...well, by making songs cheaper for download, it should be effective. Some recording companies have taken steps to reduce their CD prices from $19 to $11, Singaporeans certainly embraced it...so, make it more attractive to the consumer

Answer 87

3)You probably need an online account to buy a song eg. credit card, paypal. Now you dont have to own any cards. You probably use the extra coins, dollars to purchase one or few songs off the store. Probably this are the coins you get in change from lunch which might seem heavy and probably worth offloading it in a good song, Physcologically Barrier in "embarassed to use coin for purchasing item" where you can use the coin with ease.

Answer 88

1. Cleanse local website of MP3 sharing by specifying date all types of non original MP3 (ripped) sharing must be be stopped. after D day, whistleblowers can report to official govt website on errant / defiant websites. Warning / fines / jail term / death (kidding la) if repeated defiance. Let's start small and locally first and hope other countries follow suit.



2. Really heavy deterrent fines / jail terms on pirated CD sellers i.e. irregardless whether they are runners / lookouts / cashier / jagas manning stall. Same as drug trafficking story i.e. don't even think about it...



3. Setup legal ripping / cd loan shop. For CD ripping, bring along own mp3 player and desired CDs / songs can be ripped legally and properly onto player. Of cse, issue of how much to pay. For CD loan, provide venue for CD sampling via enhanced sensory environment i.e. tie up with Grado / Sennheisser / Shure to provide latest earphones. Nothing beats piracy more than proving that mp3 CAN NEVER REPLACE cd quality. Provide side by side comparison of mp3 vs cd quality as side dish. Once people hear the difference, thing's will never be the same again.



4. Lastly, CD prices should come down (but think probably will hv to wait for the cow to finish her moon jump first before it happens)

imagine....

>> Chicken drumstick rice + oyster sauce vege at Amoy Street + Old Chicken Hen Soup = $3

>> Soy Sauce Chicken drumstick "fragrant" rice + Superior oyster sauce and dash of XO sauce Kai Lan vege + double boiled virgin chicken soup = $25

>> Which one will man on street have for lunch everyday? its not too hard to imagine...



Lots of buyers seen at Gramophone@Paragon closing as some CDs going for as low as $1. See.. is not don't support original, but i would rather hv the $3 plate of chicken rice anytime, unless the superior plate one got lelong or maybe $2 more only. people only go for alternative if no choice. remember, piracy inc didn't become 'globalised' overnight.

Answer 89

Treat downloaded music like radio i.e. sell advertisements to offset the costs. Coca-Cola would probably fork over a bundle to advertise on the top downloaded songs.

Answer 90

Nowadays, prices for everything is going up... GST to 7%, who would not wan to save. Downloading illegally is so much convenient & inexpensive, mayb we could also lower the price of the CDs etc, so that more pple would purchase.

Answer 91

I feel that downloading music should be free as long as it is that crappy no talent rap music. I mean no one wants to pay for something they can hear on the street all day hell anybody can rap even prison bitches like snoopy dog or ca ca dog or 50 pennies hell even that white prison ***** em&m sounds like he was sodomized let the people have their free music. it will stop the no talent from getting rich and acting like greedy homosexuals

Answer 92

1. Lower the price of CDs to that of pirates

2. Stop putting music online

3. Encode all songs on CDs so that music cannot be

easily copied from one disc to another

Answer 93

technically , its not possible to completely STOP it .. cause there is always someone uploading stuff on the Internet. however , you can minimise it by lowering the price of the CDs and making it so cheap and accessible that people would rather buy the album then to go on line to download it.

Answer 94

The answer to those pirates would be ninjas......yep it will always be ninjas,unless those pirates were cyborg pirates,which in that case the humanity would be doomed.Unless......



Anyway I think it's not about the pricing at all.It's because:



1:Freedom to listen to what you want.Some albums are pretty stale,save for one or two tracks.



2:Convenient.No need to head down to the local music store?Score!



Suggestions?



1:Make better music,not more.I don't need twenty songs if only 3 are worth listening to.



2:A local version of itunes or something......A thousand apologies if there's already something implemented.



3:Ninjas.The answer to everything.Know it well my friend,for it may save your life one day......



*Disappears in a cloud of cigarette smoke*

Answer 95

I can't live without music. But simply I refuse to buy a CD from those music stores. I obtain songs I want through friends and the internet.



I doubt that you can totally reduce music piracy. But to significantly reduce it you need not only look at end-users like me who chooses not to buy a CD.

What kind of feelings do you get when you purchase a CD? Mystery and curiosity. But most of the time you ain't going to love every song you listen in that album, sometimes you're even going to hate most of them and listen to only a handful. So a CD is more or less like a box of chocolate. You ain't going to know what you're going to get until you open it. And if the whole box turns out to be dark chocolates and you happened to hate it, will you think twice about buying chocolates from the same store again?

People should be able to 'preview' whole songs or even albums before giving them a choice to purchase. Seriously I don't like to buy a CD, only to rip that one song to my com and add the CD to my dust collection.



It doesn't help that CD costs much more than one day's meals. And it also doesn't helps when we know how much music artistes and recording companies are earning, especially when sick music artistes flaunt their riches and act like untouchables. Of course people's eyes get red when they see someone get successful, but the fact that recording companies are trying to make us idolise singers so that they can earn more money really makes me feel sick and rebellious. Artists are people, accountants are people, waiters are people, so please don't make artists look like they are classes higher than others. Only pubescent teenagers idolise them. The logical ones see them as runts.



Well, the internet has done well to introduce those pay-per-downloads programs. As long as there is flexibility in them, I believe the public will continue to support the music industry. But one thing for sure, we can't go back to those days where CDs are sole monopoly of music sources beside radio. So recording companies can stop dreaming about fighting music piracy and start thinking about appealing to the new consumers.



Hey. This is the world. It's hard to make everyone happy. As long as people have choice they will be happy. The internet has given them another choice to music sources, so we are going to cling as tightly to it until a better choice is presented before us. No way will people choose to go back to those choiceless times. All-in-all, recording companies can stop dreaming about fighting music piracy. Introducing DRM and anti-piracy laws doesn't cure the problem. Instead it only serves to drive it deeper below the ground, thus creating opportunities for more innovative ways of music piracy to surface. In other words, fighting piracy is like a top student saying "I'm going to beat you so you can't come to the exam and do better than me", its more like they are running away from the problem. Face it, don't fight it.

Answer 96

u cant.. unless u kill music totally.

and everyone have downloaded illegal mp3 b4 so dun be a hypocrite.



Alright.. since so many posts are rated as bad post.. i would like to ask the author, Melvin Kee, what can YOU do to stop music piracy?

Answer 97

While I never expect to stop music piracy completely, there are certainly some steps that can be used to prevent it.



There has always been music piracy in one form or another. Before digital technology, it was common for someone to copy a tape (or copy a CD to a tape in the early days of CDs) for a friend to listen to. While I'm sure a few people used this as a way to get music for free, usually it was because someone wanted to get to hear the music and see how they liked it without having to buy the album first. Often if they got one album that way, and liked the music, they'd purchase other albums by the same artist (or even purchase the one they had a copy of out of principle).



With digital technology, copying became easier. You no longer lose quality to copy music. And you don't have to pay for a tape either. This not only encourages copying, but since you can get "full quality" copies of CDs, it also encourages people who are looking to save money on music. Also, it can be more convenient to download music than to go to a store to purchase it -- I know people who will buy a CD online, and download MP3s of the CD to actually use. The CD itself sits on a shelf somewhere, never used.



At the same time, we have a rise in music prices, and an increased desire by music companies to have a say in how we can use music. There also seems to be a plague of low-quality albums that have one or two good songs, but nothing else worthwhile. This makes consumers upset with traditional methods of music purchase for a number of reasons. Why spend $15 on a CD that has one good song on it? Why get a CD that might not play on my computer because of some ill-conceived attempt at copy protection?



One advantage of the ease with which we can copy music these days is that it allows people to hear bands they never would have heard otherwise. As a result of online distribution (both legal and otherwise), I have been exposed to a number of great bands that have probably never seen radio time. I then have bought their CDs. I wouldn't have bought the CD of an unknown band if I was never able to hear them first, so this is a new market that is opened up for consumers.



I am a firm believer that there are a couple of steps which can be taken to reduce piracy to a background noise level. The first is to allow people to listen to music for free. Maybe this will involve streaming low-quality clips over a web page. Maybe this will involve handing out low-quality MP3s to share. Maybe it will involve just very long sample clips (1/2-2/3 of the song length). Whatever it is, the ability to listen to new music can really create a new market in the music industry. The second is to lower prices. The prices need not be much lower, but right now we see bands that get less than two dollars for a $17 CD (see link below). Something like 1/3 for the retailer, 1/3 for the artist, and 1/3 for the label would seem more equitable. The third, which is related to the second, is to sell music online WITHOUT DRM. If I could go online and download a CD in MP3 form for $9, I'd do it all the time. Note that the distribution/manufacturing costs are close to zero in this route, so many of the "costs" of a CD can disappear. Also, online distribution reduces the need for record labels, since an artist wouldn't have to worry about not being able to get their CD into stores -- inventory is cheap in the digital world, so every store would be willing to carry any band that wants to be carried. The importance of avoiding DRM is because I am not going to buy an album online that I can only play on my computer, PERIOD. I want to be able to listen in my car, but my car player only handles MP3 and unprotected Windows Media files. I want to listen on any arbitrary MP3 player. I want to be able to share music with my friends so they can discover other bands like we did years ago with tapes (not so they can avoid paying for the music!). If unprotected music was available online for cheap, I'd be willing to spend a few dollars to A) pay the artist, B) have greater convenience than using file-sharing systems, and C) protect myself legally, even if pirated copies were readily available.



I know the record companies are afraid of making easily pirated MP3 files available to the public. I can understand that. But realize that any idiot can rip a CD these days, and the copy protection measures currently in place are far from reliable. So everyone who can buy a CD is 10 minutes from having a set of MP3s. Any economist will tell you that black markets are created when the normal means of getting some product become too difficult, impossible, or expensive. If CDs cost $500 each, piracy would be truly rampant. If I could download an unprotected album (that I can use ANYWHERE) for $5, I bet piracy would get as low as it is ever going to get. And I think everyone would make more money, as the lower prices would be compensated for by higher volume.



I know it is a risky move for an established record company to take. But it's the way of the future. You can't take consumers' rights away and expect them to tolerate it. You can't keep raising prices and expect no complaints. Lower prices. Give us the freedom we've had in the past to play music anywhere and copy it if we want. MAKE IT EASY TO PAY ARTISTS FOR THEIR WORK. And we will show our gratitude by buying more music than you have ever seen.

Answer 98

okay ....let me put it this way .....i have been an ardent fanatic music fan since i was a teenager..during that period till now.1960s till now..i have been buying original music from vinyl ..cassettes tapes...now cd.....i have been accumulating my collection of cassette tapes in 4 large travelling bags as my storage medium..my wife have nagging me for that reason..how much of my income have gone into tha travelling bags ...come to think of it...shes right in a way..but as i have mentioned it is like the labor of love...what do i get is when i am in the mood of listening to the tapes,,,,,,,it started to come out of the cassette casing..i have 2 good unrefutable cassette players though ..the cassette tapes then damaged...how do i feel..unspeakable..>>>back to the topic ...cd is the best way to store musics ...but it is costly rm20 to rm40..do you expect me to buy them ..NO as due to financial constrain ( i am a pensioner now) but look at the artistes that i been buying their songs ..they live in style..rich n famous..i am not jealous of their status....it is the pricing .....if it is rm10 , i am sure that music piracy will stop their biz. moreover not all the songs in that particular cd is good...only 1 or 2 songs are worth listening....commercial strategy from the record producer? well .i like music ..let share it in a reasonable way.

Answer 99

One problem is pricing. People are a lot less likely to steal fifty cents than they are to steal twelve bucks. I have given a fair amount of thought to this matter, and I do not think that there is any bulletproof way of fixing it: you can encipher music sent to a subscriber, but he has to be able to decipher it in order to use it, and once that is done it can be sent as cleartext to anybody.

Answer 100

this is a really tough one... because this is the age of communities and sharing - and the abuse comes in from users who are irresponsible (and just plain cheap?). the irony and beauty lies in the community itself. we need to start rallying the good apples and start inculcating a shift in consumer perception and behaviour towards downloading music for free.

Answer 101

Lower the price of originals, if the original and the pirated versions cost difference wasn't that huge then ppl would be willing to pay a little more for the original

Answer 102

if e musicians really wans to earn money, the easiest way for them is to have concerts all over e world.. one concert cud easily earn them millions and i.e. only if they're famous.. no more feelin down as tis true fans paid so much more than an album's worth for jus that one experience ..

Answer 103

i got an ipod nano sometime ago and had to fill it up with some mp3 music. problem is i couldnt find anywhere to get it.



biggest problem is. itunes, which is supposed to provide mp3 dowloads at 99c, is not available in singapore. then how do we get legal mp3? getting whole albums cant fit into a nano. converting the format to mp3 would be very troublesome.

Answer 104

why ppl download music from Internet b'cos it free.

why ppl don't buy Original dvd/vcd or cd music that to support they fans. from what i know is, b;cos of money n wasting place..

i think the only way to stop... is stop using the Internet... can i say that????

Answer 105

making cds cheaper and blocking any music download sites or charge more for downloads. downloads should not be the whole song then people would be put off by this.

Answer 106

Music piracy brings down the entire artistic music community.

Answer 107

Dunno.but it seems like everyone wants to get freen stuff from the net.or maybe someone bought an album and sent to his frens?could be.a way is to encourage ppl,that's the onli thing u can do,man.gov cannot implement laws like that so easily...they nid 2 think of the ppl

Answer 108

CD's aint cheap !! and personaly i'm not gonna pay 10$ for something i can get for free

lowing the prices may help

Answer 109

I'll purchase the original CDs and not the pirated ones.

Answer 110

attractive package that goes along with the purchase of the music CDs. Something creative and collectible.

Bcos dowloading from web doesn't give u that. that's the only way...

Answer 111

No music, no piracy.

Answer 112

i personally think these music makers are earning too much more than what they really deserve. i'm kinda feelin' let down that my favorite artistes are actually trying to rip me off despite our love for them and their music and they are already making loads of money, they are still not contented and still wanna rip us off some more.



this is an extortion.

Answer 113

I would not do anything because the original is too expensive to buy and therefore i would not buy it, and therefore i would not listen to it BECAUSE it is not essential.

Therefore the music industry did not lose because they , I would not pay $25.00 for a CD.....

Answer 114

BRING THE PRICE DOWN otherwise, the artist can sell their songs over the internet. Same for movies and other softwares.All TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE.

Answer 115

Are you a musician or any music producer or any person involve in musical stuff?

Just ban or fine those website. That works for some sites. if it doesn't work, jail them(just kidding), maybe you can block the sites.

Fine them for 10k!!^^

Answer 116

lower down the price of the music CDs might help a bit....some ppl only want to listen to certain songs they like from the CDs so,no point buying the whole CD just to listen to certain songs.Who cares...the music artist usually make more money than consumer buying their music....

Answer 117

stop distributing content on internet. if gotta get, then must pay. then once pay and get it, it should be in such a technology that it cant be copied and pasted or saved or burned. that way, can stop piracy.



then yeah. thats it ultimately.

Answer 118

Credit system. the more orginal you buy the more credit earn.

use credit point to exchange cash, freebies or better meet up with you favouite celleb to say i support you all the way

Answer 119

greatly reduce the price for cds. the only reason people download is because of money

Answer 120

Just don't buy any music cds nor listening to any music.

A simple economic rule: no demands, no supplies...

Answer 121

Place music in cinemas/threatre, stop all cd production for all initial debut. Make actual copies for purchase maybe 6 months later. Think it helps?

Answer 122

lower the price of cd's



and put a copy write like dvd's have got



that way most people who dont know cant do it



i hope this helps



atb

Answer 123

cheaper priced downloads.

more websites to download/buy from.

more updated songs from the websites.

sad that itunes cannot be used in singapore.



with the current digital lifestyle, albums made should also focus the online community.

Answer 124

Why stop it? Its all about money so why should we be paying so much more when we can get close to the same thing at half the price or even lesser?

Answer 125

These are the measures I would take.



1. REPORT ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CONTAINING THE SONG, AND DO NOT GIVE VEVO ACCESS TO YOUR SONG.



2.Track the seeders on TPB,KAT,Bitsnoop,and etc



3. Only make it accessible on radio and concerts, banning electronics at the concert.

Answer 126

I will report it to the police or pretend that i wanted a job there and all the disc and throw them away

Answer 127

only the good songs are demanded by public.

unless the individuals stop tempting to get free only the piracy or offers all things will be eliminated,

Answer 128

Stop listen to music.

Answer 129

i would give it away. the money a muscian makes is out of this world. with the cost of concerts and parafanelia not to mention what they make other ways. giving something is one of the best ways to keep it from being taken.

Answer 130

reduce the price of the CDs..

with that, music piracy will reduce..

but i do not think that it will totally stop.

Answer 131

Drop the price!

Answer 132

JUST SELL IT CHEAP.......



PEOPLE WHO GOES FOR PIRATED PRODUCTS ARE NOT THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD ORIGINAL.........



AND IN ORIGINAL CD's OUT OF ALL THE TRACKS ONLY A FEW ARE GOOD AND THE REST ARE JUST SPACE FILLER..........



SO MAYBE ITS TIME FOR THESE ARTIST TO ADAPT POOR ECONOMY............ AND TAKE A PAY CUT....



COZ WE ARE ALL HERE ARE TAKING HUGE PAY CUT.........



SO WHY SHOULD THEY SPLURGE ON OUR HARD EARN MONEY....... AND ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS SING...... AND PERFORM...... AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS SPONSORED..............



AND IF PEEPS WHO SELL PIRATED COPIES CAN BE TYCOON ITSELF.... I DUN SEE WHY SELLING ORIGINAL COULDNT BE AS CHEAP...... PRODUCE IT IN CHINA....... SUPER CHEAP...... WAHAHAHAHAHAHA.......

Answer 133

Make the music free and have artists live from the concert profits.

Answer 134

easy...just ban the mp3 or any kind of music format and oh yeah ban the mp3 player or any kind of tools where u can play the music...

Answer 135

Pirates are everywhere....it's going to be tough.



You shut 1, they setup 10 others.



This is sad.

Answer 136

i hate pple do piracy... they ruin the whole market! is it possible to come out CDs which is copy-control?

Answer 137

See Ablum/Cd cheaper.. now its price not everyone can afford it.. We must think of the poor..they cant afford any..

Answer 138

i will surely want to produce such cds that cannot b copied ,not even in a pc.just insert n hear

Answer 139

its impossible, its like asking how can you stop people from listening to music.

Answer 140

I don't 'buy' pirated music. There is no problem. In fact, I never see any pirated music for 'sale' anywhere.

Answer 141

make originals cheaper!!! Albums are too expensive these days. i bought alot of china imports originals though, much more affordable and its original!

Answer 142

Nothing

Answer 143

sell blank cd higher price first, then ban all download sites.

Answer 144

stop buying illegal downloads and CDs.

Answer 145

Face it... its you Versus the world.

Answer 146

Very simple, ......stop the internet.

Answer 147

hope for a nuclear war.....the emp waves will destroy the internet and viola......no piracy......

Answer 148

There's nothing we can do...

Answer 149

kool

Answer 150

I would sing

Answer 151

if ur music is in the black market...u are there bro...

Answer 152

you wont be able to stop it

Answer 153

well. i got an ipod for a christmas present which. . i cant resist. and i always felt guilty for downlaoding music. but i used to think that u can always try to report them, or add viruses to downlaoded files so ppl would stop downloading it

Answer 154

buy only geuiene only.

Answer 155

no

Answer 156

nothing

Answer 157

nothin at all ........