[What Would Kevin Do?]

The difference between youtube / the other methods of checking out music on the internet and downloading is simply convenience. I listen to the majority of my music at the gym. It's must easier to toss something onto my ipod and check it out on the go.

Anywho

Which still doesn't answer "why do it in the first place?" I get the generic platitudes of "to give them a shot," but that seems largely unnecessary self-justification for behaviour you both claim does not matter and you wouldn't miss. but for all that, you're going pretty far out of your way to justify it, even if you don't go so far as to call it a good thing.

When I say I'm downloading something because I want to check it out/give it a shot, I mean it. That's how I discover a good chunk of the music I like. I don't understand what you don't get about downloading music to check out a band. I'm not trying to justify it, I'm not trying to moralize it, I'm just calling it like it is. Most of the time when I download something, it's to see if it's any good.

And you wouldn't buy it anyway? So what? Seriously, that's part of the problem I have with this mentality. I will be explicit, downloads do not equal lost sales. The problem is, you still need an "and" or a "so" tacked on there to make it work for you. So until you add that, stop arguing with me on a point I'm not making and disagree with. It'd be like me insisting that you were stealing by downloading and insisting that stealing is a good thing. IT's dishonest. Just stop.

So what, your problem isn't with downloading music, but people who have a reason for downloading music? So it's okay to just argue "downloads don't equal lost sales", but it's not okay to explain why you're downloading something past that, because it's trying to justify an illegal/immoral act?

You just don't like people pretending to do "bad" things for "good" reasons?

It just seems a bit odd to me that you're taking the moral high ground not on downloading music itself, but on the reason behind it. Ultimately, it doesn't matter why people download music. The fact is, they do it. Whether it's to get something they want, try something new, or listen to it once and then toss it, they're still downloading music. It's a bit dickish to act like people can't download something because they just want to find new sounds/bands, or that they're really just saying that to justify the downloading. People do download music just for the sake of discovering new music, it happens, you can't deny that.

Also, I never said "I'm just checking out out, so it's okay" or "I wouldn't buy it anyway, so it's okay." It's not a justification. In fact, the "I wouldn't buy it anyway" statement was just an observation that I found interesting, because it's true. A large chunk of the music I download, I would never buy. That doesn't make downloading it okay. And before you ask "Well if you'd never buy it, why are you downloading it", it's to check it out. Lady Gaga is pretty much the perfect example of this. People ranted, I downloaded it to see what all the talk was about, I listened to it, I said "Meh", and that was it. Not saying that makes it okay, like I said, it's just an observation. If I wouldn't have downloaded it, I wouldn't have listened to it, and life would have continued on.

Likewise, I'm not pretending like downloading something is okay just because I'm doing it to check out a new band, or that it's okay to download all of someone's stuff just because I'll go to their concert, or buy they're merchandise. The downloading is still wrong. I was just explaining what I personally do.

So yeah, KK, I don't need an "and" or a "so" added on to "make it work for me." I don't need to justify it to make myself feel better. I was explaining WHY I personally download stuff, not trying to convince someone that it's okay because I do it for a certain reason.