Man Up And Admit It: Downloading Is NOT The Root Of The Problem

I've never downloaded an album. Only a song before the album is out, and if the album is wack, then I will just burn a hot song that was on it. The only thing that stops me from buying an album is the quantity of hot songs.

B4 these rappers start blaming us for downloading CD or Songs they need to blame themselves of making crappy music and worse videos. all rap songs these days are the same. all the rappers do is talk about their money, how many girls they got and how big their rims are, what iam i learning 4rom dat, i aint learning shit. the only respectful rappers out there are underground rapper cause they still got their grind and ambitions to make it.
Shout out to NAS, GAME, T.I., and Ludacris for droppin an album worth listining too completely.
06 is over i hope 07s a better year.
Florida Gators BCS CHAMPS the South Rules once again

The truth of the matter is that as music has gotten more commerce driven as opposed to artistically fruitful and orginal, less people have felt the need to own material because there are less classics being made; no innovation in the musical sound and less being said that relates directly to the consumer ie. G-4's, Diamonds, Big willie-izms, expensive cars. This is not the majority of the audiences life style.

Question:

Whatever happened to seeing rappers go through the transition of becoming sucessful. I remember the First Wu-Tang Videos were shot on an 8mm camera in the PJ's in Staten Island. Nas's Represent, naughty by Nature with Bats with nails in them. No one defines the struggle that does still exist in hip Hop and it's a shame that everyone that comes out with their first single only wants to depict having already being rich. Music lacks sales because of the microwave record deal-career, and just like food re-heated it's never as good as it was when it was first tasted after being slow cooked in the oven. Be Real Hip Hop.

Posted by: SouthKingDingAlingSheetsmusher at January 9, 2007 3:59 AM

Co-sign you to the fullest.

Personally i agree when you say the music is garbage but i dont agree about the downloading not affecting sells b/c just think about it there are ppl who use to buy the albums b/c they liked the artist single but now you can just download it so just think about how many ppl do that. Then ppl are not goin to the store to purchase the cd b/c your local bootlegger is sellin 2 for 5 or 3 for 10 on the corner. And i have to say that there is alot of quality music out and there not sellin as much i think its all about how much exposure you have hip hop will never be what it used to be b/c money is there 1st love hip hop is 2nd

Well, I do agree that artist need to step up their game when it comes to the product they put out for the public. But downloading has affected the industry whether we want to agree or not. Artists shouldn't use that as an excuse. If the album is hot enough, people will buy it. But, problem is, a lot of people lack enough integrity to go out and buy an album they know is hot instead of downloading it. also, the people that even post the albums on their pc's or websites lack integrity too.

man i took that rich talk and ran with it i fill they supposed to be so rich already my measley 11.99 aint go do nothing so i jam for free like a g i love technology fuck these rappers they dont care about us

If it aint downloading than what is it? Music sales have been down in (all genre) in '06, check those stats. I'm not defendinding wack cd's, but if bootlegging don't have much to do with it, than downloading songs does.

now u don't have to buy a whole album, only to take it home and find out that there's only 3 hot songs. u can just download those 3 hot songs and skip the fillers. If we had this technology 10 yrs ago, i'm sure we'd be havin the same conversation.

and i don't agree with music quality being down compared to the 90's. everyone makes the argument that music from the past is better than what's current, ask them rock and roll cats. i hate to pull out the regional hate card, but this opinion is only on the internet where "real" hiphop is the NY style of rapping. i remenber hearin "hiphop" quality was down when the West introduced gansta-rap.

things aint the same cause the game has changed with the hiphop culture being more popular and comercial than ever, but the argument that "quality is down" happens in every genre as times change. only difference now is that downloading has effected the way people buy music, thus effecting the way artist sell music.

Rappers been fuggin us over for years. They wont release a single, but want you to buy the whole cd, to find out its some crap. Then you see these niggas out at Lennox or at the outlet and they dont want to sign an autograph. Man fuk those guys, get off yo lazy azz and do a show. They dont want to do that, they just wanna sit back and "get money". Get DEEEZ NUUUUTZ BIOTCH.

If it aint downloading than what is it? Music sales have been down in (all genre) in '06, check those stats. I'm not defendinding wack cd's, but if bootlegging don't have much to do with it, than downloading songs does.

now u don't have to buy a whole album, only to take it home and find out that there's only 3 hot songs. u can just download those 3 hot songs and skip the fillers. If we had this technology 10 yrs ago, i'm sure we'd be havin the same conversation.

and i don't agree with music quality being down compared to the 90's. everyone makes the argument that music from the past is better than what's current, ask them rock and roll cats. i hate to pull out the regional hate card, but this opinion is only on the internet where "real" hiphop is the NY style of rapping. i remenber hearin "hiphop" quality was down when the West introduced gansta-rap.

things aint the same cause the game has changed with the hiphop culture being more popular and comercial than ever, but the argument that "quality is down" happens in every genre as times change. only difference now is that downloading has effected the way people buy music, thus effecting the way artist sell music.

I download mad music but its cause i got mad mouths to feed, other wise i str8 would buy their album... w/e studies say, i still think downloading/bittorrent/p2p etc does fuck with a lot of rapper sells

real talk

I think downloading does effext music sales I know a few people who just burn cds now instead of getting the real copy

The nigga in the hood with the computer is making more money than the weed man sellin CD's!!! That nigga is me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what was that smell yesterday b? was that the knicks or new jersey?

fuck these rappers they dont care about us

Posted by: randy at January 9, 2007 8:03 AM

True Dat.
_______________________________________
what was that smell yesterday b? was that the knicks or new jersey?

Posted by: BIGUP2BK at January 9, 2007 8:57 AM

I don't know son but that shit was crazy I thought somebody was tryin to light the fuckin city up.

Posted by SOHH Reckless at January 9, 2007 2:29 AM

O shit, I was just thinking when I read your comment, "yo, you should make a topic about this". I was late checking your blog this morning so this kind of blindsided me. But good look fam.

Much appreciated.

Posted by: bobby drake at January 9, 2007 8:35 AM

In the context of what I wrote "bootlegging" encompasses burning CD's AND downloading. The decline in music sales is really nothing more than just that...people are just buying less music. Nobody can say definitively why.

Pick whatever reason you'd like, be it a decline in quality music, same ol' repetitive bullshit...whatever.

All the studies that I pointed to are saying is that the person that buys a bootleg copy of a CD, or downloads it likely wouldn't have bought the real CD anyway.

You know how that goes, most people want something for free, or they don't want it at all.

Again Reckless man, I appreciate that.

Shout out to the dude who said people don't really feel the need to own any of these albums that are released. That's the absolute truth. Most of the albums can only be listened to for maybe 1-3 months. There's no longevity in music anymore. No ones in it for the long run of building a loyal fan base. People are hopping from label to label, dropping bullshit albums just to get a little bit of quick money.

I download albums, but honestly, I don't just download music just to download it. Im not greedy. If im genuinely interested in an artist, yes I'll download it. I wouldn't dare download OR buy some shit like 'P.O.M.E.', so I really don't think downloading is hurting sales. Common sense from the public is hurting sales. It's only so long you can fool smart people before they catch on to the routine of dropping a #1 single and filling the rest of your album with complete garbage.

I cosign tao:

you gotta be an idiot to say downloads do not have a trickle down effect on hard album sales.

p.s.

fuck that world don't ask me for shit! everything ya get gotta work harrrd for it!!!

stop bitchin' 50, get ya weight up.

Co-sign reckless!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nas put up good numbers with little radio and video play.

what was that smell yesterday b? was that the knicks or new jersey?

Posted by: BIGUP2BK at January 9, 2007 8:57 AM

I don't know son but that shit was crazy I thought somebody was tryin to light the fuckin city up.

Posted by: Big Sun at January 9, 2007 9:11 AM

---- You dudes are some coward ass yankees for real... i heard about that shit yesterday a "natural gas" odor was freakin' NYC out... pussy's... we have those on a monthly basis out in the country and we don't trip... cityfolk seriously sometimes are such worriers it's not even funny, like some girls or sumthin'

@HTOWNFRAUD

SO YOU STILL DONT FEEL SHAME TO COME IN HERE AND SHOW YOUR FACE YOU COWARD, YOUR A STAN. YOUR OPINIONS DONT MATTER ANYMORE

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

and i ain't tryin' to talk shit to you two specifically, that comment was very generalized... you can ask 80 year old women and they will say the same thing bout ya'll...

@ t-fool

i'm as much of a stan, as i am a racist... zero

Yo!!! i thisank downloading is as whack as watchin' free willy while havin' a heart attack and doin smack on da back of a yack. in da bisay all day we go dumb to da real shizzit. undaground overground dont mizzater but internet chatter dont make ya pockets fatter if you an artist ya dig me like a sandbox?

... cityfolk seriously sometimes are such worriers it's not even funny, like some girls or sumthin'

Posted by: htownmike at January 9, 2007 9:54 AM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SO I THOUGHT YOU WERE FROM HOUSTON?
CORRECT IF IM WRONG, BUT AINT THAT A CITY? THE FOURTH LARGEST AT THAT. SO YOUR NOT A CITY BOY FROM THE SUBURBS?

Downloading is complex discussion.

1. I think that illeagl downloading hurts the little guy more for ex. Styles P. His album is good product but, all the shit on there has been leaked on the net or sold on bootlegg mixtapes. So why buy it? I did cuz I like the real package, I can afford it and sound quality matters to me.

2. Music sales are down due to a bad economy. People have less disposiable income and CD's are not a top priority.

3. Bad product equal's bad sales????? I don't know it seems like the shit I hate or think is wacked sells more then then the shit I am feelin.

"Ghetto revival. King of The Suburbs. I am an entity."
-John Brown The White Rapper Show

Does that punk whiteboy know his name is the same as one of the most notorious slave traders in American history?

One

^^^^^
real talk

sike that nigga need to read a book or something i know you just trying to be funny bayarea nigga

Htownmike u wildin son.We aint use to them smells yo. Yo country fried ass, is use to smelling old pigfeet and cow tounges.i bet yo mama cooking peanutbutter and hog-head cheese sandwiches right now for yo craka ass.Eh yo, how come country niggas drink from mayonnaise jars b? yall cant afford cups dun?

... cityfolk seriously sometimes are such worriers it's not even funny, like some girls or sumthin'

Posted by: htownmike at January 9, 2007 9:54 AM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SO I THOUGHT YOU WERE FROM HOUSTON?
CORRECT IF IM WRONG, BUT AINT THAT A CITY? THE FOURTH LARGEST AT THAT. SO YOUR NOT A CITY BOY FROM THE SUBURBS?

Posted by: T-Cool *THE HTOWNMIKE SLAYER* at January 9, 2007 10:11 AM

--- If you knew shit about htown you know you can still be in the country and be in "city limits" we got room to stretch our feet out here, we ain't all on top of each other like new york and shit... in sq. miles we are the biggest... most spread out... thats why we don't have mass transit, and the car is king down here. so can you're drivers license say Houston, TX and you still have cattle in your backyard... LOL sad but true... do your homework son

Htownmike u wildin son.We aint use to them smells yo. Yo country fried ass, is use to smelling old pigfeet and cow tounges.i bet yo mama cooking peanutbutter and hog-head cheese sandwiches right now for yo craka ass.Eh yo, how come country niggas drink from mayonnaise jars b? yall cant afford cups dun?

Posted by: BIGUP1BK at January 9, 2007 10:17 AM

LOL!!!! honestly mane it's really a country type thing... and i have asked my parents and grandparents bout that one... along time ago you sealed stuff in mason jars and manytimes it was just if you were poor you kept them around and used them as drinking glasses. nowadays like my fam we do have some mason jars in our cabinets which we drink out of too if there are no other clean glasses... it just started out of poverty and i guess people keep them around as sentimental type things... LOL at the fact i went to my moms house over Christmas break and got on her ass cause she had washed out dixie cups and put them up in the cabinet as not to throw them away!!!! i got on her ass... LOL it was funny, cause i guess when you grow up poor some habits stick with you for life you know bigup?

Htownmike u wildin son.We aint use to them smells yo. Yo country fried ass, is use to smelling old pigfeet and cow tounges.i bet yo mama cooking peanutbutter and hog-head cheese sandwiches right now for yo craka ass.Eh yo, how come country niggas drink from mayonnaise jars b? yall cant afford cups dun?

Posted by: BIGUP1BK at January 9, 2007 10:17 AM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maybe country niggas cant afford cups and nice clothes and shit but does that give you (NEW YORKERS) the right to feel better then them. Like yo ass aint black as well. New york niggas be trying to bash everybody like you niggas is GODS and the rest of the black race is dusty ass slaves that need to cater to your every move just because they aren't from NEW YORK even though their black and your black but on the same note you niggas be trying to act all righteous/muslim and shit.
whats really good with you niggas. If you goin clown this stanning ass white boy called mike, clown him not you own people.

The music industry has lost its exclusivity and isn't exciting anymore. Any old regular joe can and has dropped an album and its just gotten boring. Plus the image over talent concept is spewing out 1 hit wonders by the dozens, aint no classics being made.

I definitely don't buy cd's these days unlessss its Mary or someone....because most of the artists aren't making music for the people..... they don't give a fuck about us they're jus in it for the dough and the fans are finally catching on.

that's some bullshit I been a billboard.com addict for 8 years and u could see how the sales started dropping year after year when napster dropped and morpheus and kazaa came out....

@bobby drake
I don' think you can blame one region for the decline in quality. Back in the 90's you can find quailty around the country. the west had 2pac putting out some good stuff NWA was just telling their stories when gansta rap started. Int he south you had Outkast, Goodie Mob and Arrested Deveolopment talking about issues in the south Scarface was bring some quailty stuff.

New york niggas be trying to bash everybody like you niggas is GODS and the rest of the black race is dusty ass slaves that need to cater to your every move just because they aren't from NEW YORK

Posted by: T-Cool *THE HTOWNMIKE SLAYER* at January 9, 2007 10:28 AM

--- I hate to tell you t-cool but coloreds have been doing that since they were freed from slavery and that will never stop. blacks from the north have always takin' an "elitest" mentality towards southern blacks and that shit will never change. until minorities realize that they are the true racists then your race as whole is doomed.

@htownmike

First off, Mike...you are definetly a character homeboy. You are constantly putting your foot in your mouth, and yesterday got caught stanning...but you never even slow down. I don't know whether to pat you on the back and say "keep up the hard work", or just shake my head and what is really goin on up in the head. For a minute, I thought maybe you was just catchin a bad one cuz you was the token white dude in here speaking hip hop, but over and over, you never cease to amaze me. The lines yesterday about "we was wild, we used to walk right out of class like we didn't care" and now all of your talk about the NY smell is just wild. To think, considering all that is going on in the world, if you really think that they should not be alarmed when the whole city is overtaken by a stench that they are not accustomed to...that is ignorant. Like you said, where you are from you are used to it so you would not be alarmed because it always smells there.

No hate homeboy, but just fall back...or just keep it hip hop. Everything you try and speak on otherwise is just so out there bro, and no one in any of these blogs takes you serious or respects you. Especially as far as I'm concerned, cuz you try and speak up on Christianity...then you continue with the ignorance. It's not a good look. I ain't attackin...I'm just sayin homey.

Now, regarding the original blog post:

I have to disagree to a certain extent. I agree that downloading is not the major problem with hip hop, the quality sucks..it's the same old poison and that is that.

However, I have to disagree when they say that downloading is not a problem. Because I know when I was still listening to regular hip hop, I was one who as soon as I found something hot, or there was a new drop...I was on WinMX doin that search and downloading the whole CD. Knowing good and well I was not going to buy the CD. Why would I...it was free online?

Here is what I think they should do to (1) curb the whole download problem, (2)would put the whole "CD" issue out to pasture, (3) and would put more money in "CD" problem and put this money back in the artists pockets, and would eliminate all the garbage music out there.

Now of course nothing is as easy as it sounds, but you'll get the idea.

1. Develop a key or something on the songs to where it would not be playable or "rippable" off a CD unless they had the hardwared to do so. This would prevent the end user at home from stealing the music when the artists does not permit. Now of course there would still be the standard format which is recordable and rippable but it would be controlled more easily as far as what is released.

(2) By pass the distribution companies and only put the music out online and in shops who have the "kiosks" where a person can go buy the CD and it rips right down to the CD and prints up the label. That way folks that don't have computers at home can still go in there and get their CD that they want to buy.

It would also allow people to purchase the music by song, and would force the artists to get the quality of thier music up to a point where people want to buy the songs. Not all the fillers.

It would also force the artists to grind harder and would allow alot of the underground artists tryin to come up to be heard.

I don't know..just a few ideas with possible solutions for several different aspects some of the problems. I know there are still other issues such as radio, etc...and how do you address those, but I think if we put more responsibility on the artist and take all the driving force away from the big lables, distribution companies, the quality music would bubble to the top.

But oh yeah...Christ is taking it back anyway. And guess what...downloading is NOT a problem in Christian music because a majority of the buyers are supporting the MINISTRY of the artist and understand that stealing the music is stealing from God because it is preventing the message from being spread by robbing the artists.

Say what you want, but hip hop with morals and that feeds into a morally sound culture will always do better.

Christ Bless!
PZ

@ pz

i'll bet if i were black you would be treating me different. your not treating me in a Christian manner as it is, but i'll bet if htownmike were black it'd be a diff ballgame.

Of course, downloading/bootlegging affects the music market. However, I don't believe it significantly affects it.

To me, saying downloading/bootlegging affects the music market is like saying the state of Montana affects the USA murder rate. I'm sure there are murders in Montana, but it would really be difficult for me to believe that Montana affects it as much as states like NY, PA, CA, LA, MO, TX (don't hate me cause I left off your state, I'm sure where ever you are cats are getting murdered as I write).

I think we look at the industry as small. I know bootlegging may be big where you are from, but how big is it everywhere else? Don't believe everything you hear. The music industry made a big deal out of downloading because they could not get a piece of the pie no matter how small it may be in relation to other money streams.

Music has a lot huger problems than downloading. Honestly, they should be happy that someone is still interested enough to steal/download it.

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@ townmike

by using the word colored, u kill everychance of entering a convo about black people by showing how u don't hang around black people enough to know that we don't refer to ourselfs as colored anymore. i think there having a good conversation about David Duke's book in the SOHH Closet Racist blogg.

what sup worlds worlds worlds greatest. lol i dont know why that song is in my head, but anyways whats crackin in this bitch

Am I the only one who peeped dat white rapper show last night? Shit was hilarious!Once them kids started drinkin they all started going off. I felt embarassed for them kids. Lyrically they were all suspect except maybe one dude.That fat bitch(who threw nigga around which is no no for whitey)was annoying even though she was from Far rock Queens. they were all trying to hard.. WTF Grandmaster Flash show love to these punks. It has nothin to do wit their color, but their lack of respect for hip hop. They say they love it, but they don't fully understand it.

@Htown you like that dude who was the Paul Wall clone?

One

Oh Christ, why did i come back here?

I saw that white rapper show too. even though that fat bitch fucked up by usin the N-word, she's my favorite to win it all cause she got that swag and she wasn't that bad with the lyrics.

2 King of the Burbs that got that dildo put on his lips:

Don't ever associate urself with hiphop ever again! a brown rubber dick in ur grill aint hiphop, that's some elton john, playin piano in a thong shit. u let a hoe pull ur bitch card on national tv.

Ghetto revival yall!

@ pz

i'll bet if i were black you would be treating me different. your not treating me in a Christian manner as it is, but i'll bet if htownmike were black it'd be a diff ballgame.

Posted by: htownmike at January 9, 2007 10:46 AM
---------------------------------
Wrong answer homeboy, completely...and you know it and so does anyone else on here. I stay true all the time.

First off you know I'm coming to you in love homeboy..I don't attack you. But see, what one of your problems is that you refuse to accept any responsibility for the responses you get, and the character that you have created. You never say "you kno what...maybe sayin nigger was inappropriate". And you never receive anything people are telling you, and then you never look at yourself and address that stuff man. You always try and defend even when there is no defense for you..and then you even continue building on the very same idea that people have of you by continuing in that same manner.

It's like you just don't see why everyone sees and feels the way they do about "htownmike". You just brush it off, keep doin the same ignorant things, and then get mad or defensive when you are called out.

Grow up homeboy. And to say I'm not acting as a Christian..you are 100% WRONG.

It's my job as a Christian to call you out in truth in hopes that you turn from your ways. For you to think anything other wise shows that you know nothing about being a Christian homey. Stop speaking on it like you do.

Haven't you heard it said that the definition of "insane", is continuing to do the same thing but expecting a different response?

Come on dog...

Christ Bless!
PZ

My 30 minutes of SOHH time is up. Off to get my grind on until lunch. Christ Bless!
PZ

@Drake
LMAO! Ghetto revival y'all.

Ghetto revival. King of The Suburbs. I am an entity."
-John Brown The White Rapper Show

Does that punk whiteboy know his name is the same as one of the most notorious slave traders in American history?

One

OMG. The white rapper show is my new crack! That dude that claims to be the "King of the Burbs" is a fucking clown. He was talking in circles. He couldn't even explain what this "Ghetto Revival" is. And he was saying that he was an entity! GTFOH! Dude from Atlanta (that looks like Paul Wall) is my current fave.

Posted by: SouthKingDingAlingSheetsmusher at January 9, 2007 3:59 AM--------------------------
100% Co-Sign. Gators & The Heat did The Sunshine State Proud. FL (305) all day!!

WATS ROCIN SOHH? IM BREEZIN THRU 2 SHOW THE BLOG SOME LOVE!

BUT SERIOUSLY I THINK DOWNLOADIN IS THE PROBLEM! Y BUY AN ALBUM U R SKEPTICAL ABOUT BUYIN? NIGGAS JUS DOWNLOAD IT NOW!

PEACE TO THE USUAL SUSPECTS!
=TAH=