Nate Lanxon

Nate Lanxon is CNET UK's Senior Editor of News and Features, and covers every aspect of technology for Crave. He also enjoys popular-science books, obscure Japanese animation and plays 'technical metal' on the drums, whatever that is.

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Thursday 13 September 2007, 12:43pm

Are you addicted to piracy?

If you've become addicted to downloading free music so much that you just can't bring yourself to pay for CDs anymore, you're not alone. It's easy, it's fast and it's completely unlimited. But it's also incredibly hard to break free from.

The days of Kazaa were the first few hits of the download drug that the virtual dealer gave us for free. Now, BitTorrent is the heroin of data hoarders, and try as they might, it's a hard needle for addicts to dispose of.

I feel it's true for many, this download addiction. The unlimited supply of new music causes a dilemma to those who understand that downloading music for free, while exciting and terribly convenient, is potentially damaging the artists they love. They want to support musicians and they want to discover new music too.

There are ways out, but it takes effort, will and quite honestly, some cold hard cash.

Buy a CD you're unsure about. Pay for it with your limited supply of money and you'll probably like it more than if you downloaded it illegally. See, when you give money for something, you expect something in return. In this case, you expect good music. By taking a chance with your money, you're almost willing yourself to enjoy it because you don't want to feel like you've wasted your hard-earned pounds and dollars. Cherishing the physical object -- reading the liner notes, putting the CD on a shelf -- helps too. This is the first step to going digital cold turkey.

Are you addicted to downloading? Have you gone cold turkey with pirating? If so, please share your experiences (anonymously if you like) in the comments section below.

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Comments on this post

Hurting the artists I love? Why would I love anyone who squeezes noise for a living? Sure, hearing their whines is fun. I also enjoy eating. Do you love waiters? Communist swine

Posted by HateF***ingArtsMajors on Thu 13 September, 2007 7:29 PM

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While I'm pro-download, pro-'try-before-you-buy' and pro-'free-download-equals-free-advertising', and while I support the idea that a copied album does not always translate to a lost sale, the group of people who WOULD otherwise be paying customers may be stuck in a rut that, en masse, causes lower sales and potentially less future music (under the current music business model).

Posted by Nate Lanxon, CNET.co.uk on Thu 13 September, 2007 7:46 PM

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While I am too powerless over BitTorrent, most of the artists I listen to are on indie labels, so I have considered purchasing a subscription to eMusic several times. However, Nate is right that with BitTorrent, it is difficult to do to a paid model. That, and I question why does eMusic charge twice as much in the UK as they do in the US. What I usually do is if there is an album I've downloaded and particularly like, I make sure to buy tickets to that bands gig, or to buy one of their other albums the conventional way.

Posted by HD on Tue 18 September, 2007 3:07 PM

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Why should we be forced to pay around 14 pounds for a new release album from an artist/group which has a small minority of "Decent" songs", digitally mastered to make every riff and chorus sound the same, then to have the band fade within a year for a new "more modern" group/artist from the same publisher to appear thus slaughtering the previous artists work and credit. So many groups are appearing on the shelves that people dont want to have to buy there work, as they know that a new "hot" band will replace them. I dont download alot of music, mostly an 80's classic from you tube, but i can understand why many people choose to simply download them instead.

Posted by Anonymous on Wed 25 June, 2008 12:28 AM

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I think I may have a problem. I have a different hard drive for each subject (books, incomplete tv series', complete tv series', movies, programs, games, stand up, etc...). Anyway, 11 Hard drives, and 3,000 GB, and I still look for more nightly. On the otherhand, anything I like, I buy. I just got tired of paying $100 a month for cable, only to be force-fed the same cookie-cutter garbage while original ideas get cancelled before they even get a decent chance. Same goes for pre-fabbed bands.

Posted by Alex on Tue 30 September, 2008 9:31 AM

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F**k the anti-piracy groups. P2P here to stay.

Posted by Anonymous on Wed 12 November, 2008 6:57 AM

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I googled "are you addicted to torrents" and this exact article came up. Very nice. It made me feel not so bad about this nasty and bottomless habit. You said all the things I've been thinking about buying a new cd or movie and expecting something in return. Nice piece.

Posted by Full Blown Torrent Addict Jr on Sat 29 November, 2008 5:00 AM

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Uploading is the problem not downloading.

Posted by Anonymous on Tue 3 February, 2009 5:58 PM

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