Do artists deserve to be paid for their music?

[Justin]

Ladies n gentlemen, the biggest argument against downloadin' music for free right now is that its stealin' the dolla' dolla' bills from the ppl who make it... Regardless of how much the hacks at the record companies make, the artist still loses somethin', no matter how minuscule... This raises a gd n often overlooked question: Do they even deserve to be paid for their art???

Lots of ppl do lots of amazin' things n they never get any sort of monetary compensation for it whatsoever... What makes a music artist any more deservin' than any of the other ppl? Music won't suddenly disappear cuz its no longer a way of makin' money, it may change in some ways, but we will by no means lose it... So waht do u guyz think??

... Share Wit' Us

[-t-o-n-y-]

well 1st i'm against downloading music for free BUT since the original cd is SO expensive yeah i download music for free enno mch ra7 2e23oud bala ma esma3 music........2nd someone whose been working for months and years to make a cd and make the cover of the cd (lyrics music etc etc.....)enno he should get smtg in return of the music he made and that smtg is money but they should put the price of the cd 7assab kl balad like here in lebanon an original cd is so expensice so 2alil l fyoun yechtro.......

[Adam]

99% of the worlds musicians live on average salary or less, why in the hell should
someone like Britney Spears get millions of dollars just for singing once in a studio?
If they want money go out and make concerts like every other musician does!
And if you are good at what you do, then some people might actually start to
support you, by buying your CD's.

Musicians make money from concerts, CD sales are a bonus.
Actors make money from theaters and cinemas, DVD sales are a bonus.

As for the game and software industries, when they lower their prices( to
something reasonable) and start being loyal to their costumers, I'll be loyal to them too.

One more thing, if I download something they don't loose a shit, they just don't gain.

[Wixel]

Damn! Well guys put yourselves in the shoes of the musicians and artists. It's the same argument (in a way) as with pirated softwares.

I'll put my own testimonial in there. 3 years ago we recorded an album and had to pay studio fees (as we are independent of any label). Once released to public, the fees of the album were used to cover up the studio cost. I am taking a specific case of course, and nowadays with all the music piracy that's happening artists have only concerts from which they can make up good money.

I do download music for free, but if there is an album I like I will buy it. It always interests me to take a look at the package and the artwork in the album, this is hard work on its own. I cherish every one of my original albums...