Odyssey study: filesharing is here to stay

[JohnDoe345]

Has anyone ever bought a CD-single? (when it wasn't in a bargain bin?) Why not stick with CDs, but create a file downloading service where devoted fans could grab singles or rarities

Dead_frog you have definitely pointed out one of the benefits of downloaded mp3's. You can make your own album with any songs you want. IMO most bands aren't worth getting the full album and sometimes they have rare singles that aren't available at your local stores.

In the case that pay services become high quality, server centered, fast and friendly and unrestricted, I think that there would be a reversal of roles in the p2p world and only the suckers would use the free p2p's.

I agree paid services have the potential to become even better then current p2p programs. And if priced right with good features, a large selection of high quality content, and fast servers then I think that it might be the prefered choice. It would be like comparing free internet ISP's as opposed to a paid one. Back in my 56k days I used both paid and free services like Juno, Netzero, etc. I dropped the free services quick. Anyhow it's a moot discussion because the recording industry has a tight resistance to p2p programs.

There are always going to be people who will try to get things for free, but since there aren't any good paid alternatives they are just forcing users who are willing to pay to used only the free ones. Pressplay and MusicNet aren't even close to a good alternative.

by Mazer
PressPlay and Music Net are scams that attract suckers, they get people to pay for something they're not getting.

I agree. Users are basically "renting" mp3's and that's just not acceptable. I want to own my music so that I can burn them for the car, my stereo, etc. The recording industry is running out of excuse when it comes to p2p. There seems to be enough users willing to pay, so it comes down to their fault that they aren't creating a service that will make the users and themselves happy. If they continue this philosophy then I have no guilt in continuing to use free p2p programs. There is no way I'm going to pay $20 for a CD when I only want 1 or 2 songs. Not every band comes out with a single and CD prices are way too high anyhow.