h
If you pay for the CD you will get all that information.
Hear! Hear! Its not as though there was some megacorporation who wouldn’t sweat the odd copy. These are fellow pipers you are stealing from. I’d be amazed if sales went beyond a few thousand - barely enough to cover costs.
djm
Oh-No-You-Di-nt!!! 
John 8:7
It’s McKeon !!
PJ’s right, Wannabe Piper. We’re just (as they say down in New Jersey) “busting your chops.” It’s o.k., really. 
wannabe,
I’ll photocopy the sleeve downstairs: we have a great colour photocopier downstairs in NPU that will leave it looking like the real thing.
I’ll get Gay to sign it as well, he’d be delighted!
Now, just send me your name and address and I’ll send it on… 
Regards,
Harry.
Glad to see my membership dues going to a worthy cause.
djm
I didn’t say it’s o.k.
Oh come on, really, what’s the big deal? Everyone’s done this once or twice in their life.
Yes, I suppose that can be said of many of us (myself included), but that does not make it right.
CD proceeds aren’t really big enough to make the piper rich or comfortable, your insistance regarding the pirating of another’s hard work removes even more proceeds from the artist. Theft is theft, and I am surprised you would make public your intentions.
How do you know that the artists do not read and post to these forums? 
I’m not saying that it’s right. I’m just saying that everyone’s done it once or twice (and shouldn’t anymore). Just don’t want Wannebe piper to feel so bad that he/she doesn’t want to come back to the Forum, that’s all.
Forgive and forget,
Live and let live,
After all, you could’ve been one of them.
Is that the Dusty Miller?
Getting a copy of a great album from a friend is an age old tradition. ITM seems to have relativley few problems with large scale file sharing (bit torrent etc,) so I can’t really see the harm.
I started playing whistle as a teen with no money and started piping as a single parent in college. $12-$20 cds were not really an option and I relied heavily on the kindness of friends with big collections to make me copies or mixed tapes.
Also, pre-internet most record stores in the states had no ITM and absolutely no piping music so copies were the only option. In one session we used to jokingly play the “skip” in a planxty set because everybody in town had a tape from the same scratched lp!
Piping and ITM is already way to much of a country club hobby. Unless/until it becomes a big problem I think we should encourage new players by providing as much exposure, in person and on cd, to good music as we can.
My 2 cents.
Don
Most professional pipers seem OK with people making field recordings at concerts for their own use and a bit of informal sharing with friends. That’s a great way to learn and get exposure.
But - small labels release ITM CDs that will never sell more than a few thousand. If the ITM community thinks it’s fine to steal them, how long will it take for the number of companies willing to invest in solo piping to wither? We’ll all lose out.
The world has moved on since we made crappy tapes of LPs. A CD is copy is as good as the original.
And what’s a country club hobby?
…And we stole the tunes off old people to start with. Cultural mugging… we’re all bad bastards really.
Regards,
Harry.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to direct my comment at you, I sometimes forget that there is such a thing as “preview” prior to posting. 
And Wannabe, I’m not trying to run you off.
Truth be told, I am sort of in between on the matter though I am strongly leaning in favor of the artists.
Even though piracy of this nature is difficult to prevent, it (I believe) is still illegal and I feel does make a difference in a piper’s livelyhood… I mean, it’s not as though they see a lot of proceeds from each recording (CD) and in the case that they are trying to make a living through their music (workshops, concerts, instruction, CD’s) then I am convinced these “small thefts” make a difference.
I hear what you are saying. I acknowledge that small or self produced cds are a different story than Sony Music. In my experience people who can afford these cds ( sold at concerts, tionols, etc.) almost always buy them outright because they know or admire the artists and want them to succeed. I am saying that if one can’t afford them or can’t access them, then a copy, given freely in a friendship relationship, is probably ok.
As an aside, while nobody wants to lose money, I don’t think many ITM players/bands are really thinking they are making cds to make loads of money. One of the things I love about ITM is that its very best practitioners are also cabbies and teachers and dentists. The fact that you can’t get rich with a “big break” in Irish music makes for a much better class of people (us) playing it for much better reasons. (love)
There is a school of thought on the bigger DRM issue that says generating a fan base and potential ticket sales by giving some portion of music away for free is a sound business model.
I do object a bit to this “theft” language though. Having friends over to watch football and passing the hat for beer “without the express written consent of the National Football League” is theft too. As is having an open mic night in a coffee shop and not paying the ASCAP for each Nanci Griffith cover played.
I’ll stop copying major label music when Sony gives all of the profit it makes/made from selling blank media (used almost exclusively for coping music!!!) to charity. Talk about having and eating too.
…about 4 more cents, bringing my total to 6
Don
In the first instance, no where near the same thing.
In the second instance, ASCAP are the theives!
No problem, I think my original post was misleading too.