LimeWire

[HankB]

If you think I'm wrong then ask yourself why there is a concerted effort to kill internet radio.

IMO, the effort to kill off internet radio is because internet radio and internet distribution kill off the middleman, and the middleman is the record labels that suck most of the profit from the artists.

If the artist can sell directly for 100% of profits and get direct publicity, they become superfluous.

I think you may have a point there. Consider - you can burn a CD of your own compilation - over an hour of music of YOUR choice - for about 50 cents, including the blank media, the storage box, and a custom-printed cover. Mass production by a big label will probably cut the piece-part price by 3/4.

The CD will sell for $10 or more - and is unlikely to be "full."

Even if you amortize in the cost of recording & mastering, there's a big, BIG markup.

How much of the markup goes to the artist, and how much to the various middlemen involved?

[jefnvk]

I like Phex for a freeware client.  Only complaint is it is written in Java, so it bogs down every now and then.

For anyone with a .edu email address: http://www.ruckus.com

All the music is legally free, but copy protected.  Many easy ways around that, though

[Phyphor]

I just pay for my music, you cheap bastards!

So do I.

But what if you like music videos?

Or independent artists?

Where can you get those?

[jefnvk]

But what if you like music videos?

If you just want to watch them: http://www.cmt.com/loaded/player.jhtml

Don't worry that it is CMT, the server is run by MTV, they have everything, not just Country.

Although, there isn't much else

[Calumus]

I'll recommend bit torrent as well. mininova is the best place I've found to get the torrents I'm looking for (mainly my favorite show Top Gear which isn't on in the U.S. not in its original format anyway)  For the client to get the actual files utorrent is my favorite. Just make sure you look around and get version 1.6,  as of 1.7 the company was bought out by an riaa affiliate and may have a poison pill in it somewhere though no one's found it yet. If there's something I can't find on BT I use Bearshare lite. Just turn off sharing, and you should be alright. When running anything I'd recommend running a custom firewall called PeerGuardian 2. it blocks the ips of all known mpaa, riaa affiliates and its lists are updated regularly.

[Mabs2]

YouTube is good for music videos if you don't mind the good quality.
Few independent artists as well.

[Manedwolf]

Just turn off sharing, and you should be alright. When running anything I'd recommend running a custom firewall called PeerGuardian 2. it blocks the ips of all known mpaa, riaa affiliates and its lists are updated regularly.

Not foolproof, as they spike downloads. If you grab one, you get a legal notice and have to pay.

And BTW, they're not stupid. They pay consultants to do that from private IPs outside RIAA and other official IP ranges. 

I just have no sympathy for you if you get one of their letters and have to cough up four or five digits, because it happens every day, and you're not going to be able to fight it. They keep VERY comprehensive records of the entire download and can pull your records from your ISP if you object.

[Manedwolf]

BTW:

RIAA wins key victory, accused file sharer must pay $220,000
Posted by Greg Sandoval

UPDATE (8:46 p.m. PT): A Minnesota woman must pay $220,000 to six of the top music labels after a federal jury found on Thursday that she violated their copyright.

Accused of encouraging the illegal sharing of more than 1,700 songs, Jammie Thomas, 30, elected to fight it out with the recording industry instead of settling out of court for far less money. The ensuing legal battle marked the first time the recording industry has argued a file-sharing case before a jury.

Lesson: They have lots of expensive lawyers, and challenging them is like taking a bass boat with a .22 against a battleship.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9791383-7.html?tag=nefd.pulse