Roots Archives Forum

I went to a known download area and was flabbergasted at all the reggae there.I would never have to buy again if i chose not too.I imagine most of the people doing it would never go to the local music shop and pocket some cd or lp and skulk away with them.Why is it justified online?

people dont appreciate music anymore, i personaly dont like downloading. its not the same as having the lp or single, or some cds. having mp3s is a cheap way of stealing,if its extreamly rare music it might be worth it but i wont waste much of my time!down with ipods.

its difficult to get good music alot of the time, especially if you live in a small city or something. And it is annoying to order stuff online or some people dont feel comfortable buying stuff online. I'm fine with it aslong as you have the intention to buy some of that artist's material such as cds, vynil, going to their shows, or t-shirts etc.

Good point, Zion Gates...I live in a country where I can't find Bob Marley LPs, and he is maybe the only reggae artist that I can find on CD... also no reggae artist has ever been to my country, so there's no reggae concerts, no reggae shows on radio, no nothing, when it comes to reggae, so it's very difficult for me to get music...If it wasn't the internet and the downloading programs, today I would be listening to some other stuff, but certainly not reggae, for the simple reason that I wouldn't have discovered this marvelous music...I'm not saying that is ok, but I really have that intention to buy as much records I can afford from the net (we're not a very rich country either...as in 300 euros/month it is considered a very good sallary). So, I considered "ok" as long as for me is the only source of music that I can find and, of course, afford. And it's quite logic that I would prefer to have my music on original records...and, in time, hopefuly, I will.

With regards to stuff that is regularly available at retail stores then it is unfair. With recordings that are not available (i.e. out of print LPs never pressed on CD) I think it's fair. My reasoning is that these recordings may never be repressed in any format. So they are not available anywhere unless someone wants to sell his or her copy of that recording. You aren't stealing the music because the producers or record companies (most of which are no longer in existence) don't stand to make royalties from them since they will not be repressed.

I believe that if it is available somewhere within reasonable reach, you oughta buy it. An extremely rare LP or piece of music that the average person has no chance of actually scoring, is an exception though. If I can't pay $800 for a Wackies dub album around 25 years old + only pressed 100 times, you'd better believe I'm gonna try and download it because most artists would tell you they accept that! Better for the music's message to be heard somehow.


Heres that dub album by the way:

http://cgi.ebay.com/WACKIES-Free-For-Al ... dZViewItem

I'd agree with the sentiments of Deeproots, Robe619 and Papa Ahmz. I live in a country where Reggae was near impossible to find during the late 70's early 80's (the golden era). When we finally did get large known chain record stores I could order through them. But it would take weeks to get, they would add an Import sticker and 10 pounds to the price. These special import's came from the same suppliers that sent the pop music ,rip off. It was cheaper for me to save up fly to the UK to buy through Dub Vendor & Daddy Kools. Now with the internet I am aware of work by artists during the golden era that I never knew existed and is now out of print. I very occasionally download from pay sites but only strictly if I am not able to beg or borrow a particular CD/album or buy it at a fair price. The value of an artist or their work can not always be measured in pounds, dollars, euros etc etc......

I Agree in part with Jaydubbing, it is a good way of having rarites, bootlegs or out of print albums. In my opinion nothing compares with the true original sound(and of course the cover art, lyrics,info etc..).
Nowadays its pretty easy and safe to order from the web, I also live in a country were its very hard to find good reggae (specially roots)so my collection its filled with online reggae-stores deliveries.

Respect to you all, you have good points and opinions i agree, if i was in those situations where it was difficult to get music, i would do that to. But i live in a big city where greed is a culture, and its all around me. its not reggae but its still there. theres only a few people like you guys who appreciate it just like i do..

Respect to you all, you have good points and opinions i agree, if i was in those situations where it was difficult to get music, i would do that to. But i live in a big city where greed is a culture, and its all around me. its not reggae but its still there. theres only a few people like you guys who appreciate it just like i do..