A New Documentary Traces How Piracy Overhauled the Music Industry (hypebeast.com)

submitted 5 months ago by Flatworm7591@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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May be of interest to fellow pirates... youtube trailer | invidious trailer

Ah, the good old days of Kazaa, Bear Share, LimeWire, and Morpheus. What do you guys think - did piracy permanently devalue the music industry as claimed? Or were the record companies just massively overcharging for music in the first place? Given that record companies have been stiffing artists since forever, what is the best way to support your favorite musicians today?

In the streaming age, the concept of music piracy seems eons behind us. Back in the early 2000s, however, pirates shook up the industry by stealing and illegally distributing MP3s, which listeners would otherwise have to pay for.

How Music Got Free takes viewers back to the ‘90s and early aughts, when the FBI launched a sprawling investigation into music piracy to identify – and convict – those stealing music. Even once the thieves were discovered, mass music piracy was blamed for permanently devaluing music.

Directed by Alexandria Stapleton, the two-part documentary premiered at SXSW earlier this year.

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[-] fiercekitten@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago

Music can be easy to make, but IMO good music usually isn't easy to produce still requires a fair amount of time and talent.

Also I never stopped buying good music despite my pirating. The recording industry has certainly stopped wanting to sell us music though, and prefers we perpetually rent it instead. There is exactly one business my town where there is a decent selection of CDs I can buy, and it's a local, independent new-and-used media store. The ONLY alternatives are walmart and target, who have maybe a dozen or so albums for sale.

P.S. To anyone who releases an album on vinyl but not on CD in 2024: I hate you with the passion and determination of a hundred honey badgers.