Illegal Download Link Websites Can F.O.A.D.!
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If there's one thing I can't stand, it's piracy, and the discussion thereof. It's one of those taboo subjects that everyone has an opinion on. You're either all for downloading music free, or you're 100% against it. Here at Apoch's Metal Review, I bring a strong anti-piracy stance to the site. I will not accept any e-mails from random readers sending me uploaded files via whatever file hosting site they use, asking me to review the CD. If that person isn't from the band, or a record label, it immediately goes in the trash bin. All the reviews here are based off material either provided by the band, the label, a promotional company hired by either of those two, or off a physical item purchased with my own funds.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not going to set up this article and tell people the traditional "You fail at life," or "I hope you [human "pirate"] die!" or even "You'll burn in hell for stealing music!" cause, while I'm against it, I can't really do anything to stop it personally. It's gonna happen, there's no denying it. It's been going on for ages, ever since blank cassettes and the record button on CD/cassette players were invented. Piracy is a huge part of music's past, the only reason it's becoming such a problem is because MP3s and the internet have made it so easy to get exactly what you're looking for instead of having to find someone locally who wouldn't mind dubbing a copy onto a tape for you, and hoping they have an original and not an 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., generation copy of the material itself.
Anyone who knows me knows for a fact I hate the digital medium when it comes to music. I simply refuse to "buy" MP3s unless it's literally the only way to obtain the material, but even then I'll just say to hell with it and not buy it at all unless it's a CD single off an album I'm dying to hear. 've met many people in my life who have had no problem with MP3 downloads, but eventually, after hearing my arguments about the quality of a factory pressed CD against any music file that is compressed in any manner, such as the MP3 format, they eventually began to notice the differences between the mediums, and have started buying CDs instead of just running to iTunes and other MP3 stores. It also didn't hurt that I pointed out in licensing/purchasing agreements that 95% of the time, you're meerly buying the rights to listen to the song, and not actually buying the song itself, meaning if the label wants you to destroy all copies of that file, you legally would have to or face legal consequences, and having that as an open option, knowing you don't own anything but meerly rented it for an unspecified amount of time, really bothers me as a human being.
I can empathize with some who download albums illegally due to lack of funds though, and truly have favorite bands who try to buy that CD when they actually have the money. I understand why many people will do it. Not everyone runs a website like I do and can have access to so many kick ass bands at one time. I really appreciate all the promotional materials I'm sent by the labels, as it really has helped me experience bands I never would have been able to experience financially. But that's one reason I run this site, to help guide people to finding these new bands that are sick or just flat out kick ass, and not waste money on new or established acts that suck. Times are tough, especially in the States here with the economic state we're in. Gas is rising, causing grocery costs to rise. Anyone who claims the cost of living isn't going up is an idiot, pure and simple, and with the rising cost to live, it's almost impossible to go out and buy anything for yourself. My most recent paycheck, I took my fiancee out for pizza, and bought a video game on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and I'm done, the rest is going to bills and gas to get to work. Because of that, I know many people old enough to work simply can't afford to buy every CD from ther favorite artists, and that the younger kid's allowance may not be enough to cover more then one or two CDs perhaps every other week. Believe me, I get it.
But, I'm going off from the subject here. I do have an opinion on illegal downloads, and I honestly hate them. However, like I said, what can I do to stop it other then try to make friends not do it. I lack the hacking skills to shut down sites, as well as lack the time to report every site I happen upon hosting downloads. However, there is a new epidemic out there. While sites like Pirate Bay have been shut down with lawsuits pending, other legit sites are becoming hosts to illegal activites. Files such as MegaUpload, FileServe, and Filestube, are all playing host to illegal downloads, and people are getting wise through a simple Google search. These people then take the links to these downloads, and host a blog with the links, claiming it's to promote their favorite bands. This is the most infuriating thing I have ever seen.
I admit, I originally wasn't even going to post this. I had every intention of loading it to the site, but at the same time, I felt that I had vented enough. That was until the search I just recently did for Alestorm and Dark Fortress cover art. Not one site I happened on through Google's image search brought up a legitimiate site or webzine. The first picture that came up, to three pages down, basically we're all piracy-based link websites, and I find it absolutely ridiculous. These sites are a plague and they need to be stopped. I won't get into my views on piracy, as they will be a whole other editorial, but coming across these sites every time I click an image to use on my site has shown me it's an epidemic. That is honestly why I'm so pissed off over this: The sheer amount of these sites in existence. There's no need them to exist period, let alone the need for forty, fifty of them in one shot just based on Deathcore or Death Metal alone, or millions of torrents for Power Metal or Black Metal band discographies.
As a fan of the Metal world, I am deeply offended by the number of these sites. You're not fans of the music. Instead, you're a disgrace to the bands and their fans. If you have any common sense, you'll pull the page before Blogger or Wordpress does it for you. A few people have wrote me saying they can use my site as a source of obtaining music to review, and you can save your fingers because I will never do that. I also have no intention of linking my site to your illegal download site, or any other site out there that links to it. Infact, I absolutely hate you, and your illegal website. As far as I'm concerned your illegal downloads link site can f.o.a.d., period. And some of the sites that exist today that house the files should really step things up and have better security too. Sites like Rapidshare, Fileserve, Megaupload, Filestube, all of these I've come across and links on these site, and they literally have become the hubs for illegal downloads, which is scary since I know some labels that provide me with material through these sort of filesharing sites, but at least typically password encrypt the stuff!
Enough is enough. I'm all for the sharing of information, and I have my own stance on illegal downloads, but please, share the information, about the band. Share links to myspace or facebook accounts, link to pages where their audio is streaming legally, don't just paste a link to download the band's stuff. It's an insult. We're the ones most dedicated to our craft. How is this dedication?
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