Wednesday, March 27, 2002
There’s been a lot of talk about music piracy, and how file-swapping denies musicians and record companies their due.
Maybe. But my experience with MP3s and music downloading has been quite contrary. In fact, I have given music companies and artistes a lot more business simply because of the free downloads available.
Let me explain. I have downloaded lots of music. Mostly from audiogalaxy. I rarely listen to them either on my office PC or my home computer. What I download from the web are songs of artistes recommended to me, usually those I haven’t heard. I sample them. If I like it, I head for the nearest music shops and buy CDs or cassettes of that artiste, based on the condition of my wallet. No MP3 can quite match the quality I get from a CD on my system.
I discovered Jagjit Singh on the Net, after which I have collected CDs of almost every album of his. Then I tried Mehdi Hassan. I liked what I heard. And went and bought a couple of cassettes to begin with. I plan to boost my collection soon. I am now on to Abida Parveen… Simon and Garfunkel… (I know, I know, my music tastes are just maturing :)
Without MP3s, I would never have bothered with these artistes. And I am sure there are many out there like me.
Maybe. But my experience with MP3s and music downloading has been quite contrary. In fact, I have given music companies and artistes a lot more business simply because of the free downloads available.
Let me explain. I have downloaded lots of music. Mostly from audiogalaxy. I rarely listen to them either on my office PC or my home computer. What I download from the web are songs of artistes recommended to me, usually those I haven’t heard. I sample them. If I like it, I head for the nearest music shops and buy CDs or cassettes of that artiste, based on the condition of my wallet. No MP3 can quite match the quality I get from a CD on my system.
I discovered Jagjit Singh on the Net, after which I have collected CDs of almost every album of his. Then I tried Mehdi Hassan. I liked what I heard. And went and bought a couple of cassettes to begin with. I plan to boost my collection soon. I am now on to Abida Parveen… Simon and Garfunkel… (I know, I know, my music tastes are just maturing :)
Without MP3s, I would never have bothered with these artistes. And I am sure there are many out there like me.
# posted by Ashok @ 10:29 PM 
