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50 free downloads?? Where? I'm in the middle of my free 25-song download trial, and I only have a few songs left. Damn. Even if they do 50-song trials, I'm sure I'm now ineligible.

I got the trial because I was interested in a particular artist who has a couple of albums only available at various download sites, including Emusic. I got the stuff I wanted, but I can't find any more that interests me. I feel like I should get my money's worth out of this trial. ;)

The primary problem is exactly what was mentioned in the article summary and a few comments already: there's just too much unknown stuff to sift through. I'm not listening to 100 previews to find one gem. And if I find that one gem, what are the odds that it'll be part of a whole album I'd want? I don't have enough free downloads left to get a complete album. Of course I could actually pay for a subscription, but that's only assuming I'd find enough other music there to justify it. So far I haven't.

There's one record label that I really like on Emusic, but all of their stuff is readily available on CD. I'll take the physical CD over lossy download any day -- save the downloads for stuff that's out of print or the rare individual songs I want (I prefer complete albums for the most part).

What's a music lover like me to do? I even tried Pandora, but found that while its recommendations were on the right track, the quality just wasn't up to the stuff I'd actually pay for. I'm sure there's enough good music I'd love to increase my collection (~600 albums) by an order of magnitude, but how do I find it?

And yet, Steve Vai's own record label is a member of the RIAA. Makes you wonder, huh?

What a complete load of shit. You assert that there's no music being produced now that's worth buying? Bullshit.

Top 40 is crap and always has been crap. Nothing about that has changed in the last several decades.

Dig a little deeper and you'll find plenty of incredible, CURRENT music out there. And I'm not even talking about indie labels. Quite frankly, I hate those fucking indie snobs. You know, the people who always pop up on stories like this to loudly proclaim that they only buy music from indie labels. Well, whoop-de-fucking-doodah! Have a cookie. Those snobs annoy me almost as much as idiots like you.

No, there's a huge amount of awe-inpiring music released on RIAA-affiliated labels. You just have to know where to look. Don't look at the crap that the big 5 are pushing in your face on eMpTy-V or at the front of the store. Find the real musicians, the ones who have genuine talent and really care about what they're doing. Guess what? The vast majority who have a record contract are on RIAA labels. There's a few hundred labels in the RIAA if I recall correctly, so don't judge them based on the product and actions of the big 5.

Like guitar music? Check out Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. Awesome stuff. Hell, check out Joe Satriani's new release, just out yesterday. I bought and it's great. Crap my ass. If that's not your cup of tea, try any of the thousands of albums that have come out in the last few years. You're not looking hard enough!

I own an iPod, but prefer to use WAV files on it when possible. It doesn't make a huge difference on the cheap headphones I use with it on the go, but it if very noticible when connected to my car, or home stereo.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. Now I KNOW you're full of shit, Mr. self-proclaimed golden ears. Or maybe you're just a fucking retard who doesn't know a damn thing about encoders and bitrates.

Cheers!

Right. And let's face it, there is more to the RIAA than just "evil, evil, money, money, stomp on the consumer!!" mentality. Last I checked, there were at least a few hundred labels in the RIAA - obviously far more than just the "Big 5." Most of them are small labels who support really good music and aren't out to make a killing so their executives can buy 20 more Mercedes and 3 new mansions. My favorite label is also a member, and I don't hold it against them. They're in the business of getting incredible music out to be heard by as many people as possible, and the best way to do so is to enjoy the benefits of the RIAA without being one of the bloodsucking evil corporations that also are a part of it.

I wish we'd stop calling it the RIAA and say something else like the Big 5 or something like that. Those are the greedy assholes we should be fighting. Go on the RIAA website sometime and look at the huge list of member labels. I'll bet there's lots of tiny "indie-like" labels you didn't know were members, and they're probably good people too. I don't boycot the RIAA, I just boycot shitty music. Happily the vast majority of music I love can't be found in Best Buy and places like that (I was there yesterday and found ONE, only one CD from my wishlist of almost 200), and most of it's not released by the evil Big 5.

I've got news for you, Six Degrees is a member of the RIAA. Look it up.

Face it, there's tons of incredible music out on the more obscure RIAA labels. The big 5 push mostly crap and the occasional good stuff, but there are literally hundreds of small labels with great music that are still RIAA members. I'll bet most of these slashdot idiots who profess to only buy 'indie' are actually buying from RIAA members that happen to be small!

Frankly, I don't care. The music is the most important thing to me, and I'll buy it if it sounds good. I've bought nearly everything that's come out on Favored Nations but guess what, they're in the RIAA too. I care, but not enough to deprive myself of incredible music. Steve Vai seems like a good guy (he started the label) and I'll bet there are more reasons to be an RIAA member than just to join an evil cartel and laugh with the devil. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he's dedicated to finding the absolute best talent and making their music available for me to enjoy. It's his big boy associates who we need to complain about and focus on.

Joe Who? If you want someone who knows how to play a guitar, try Satriani. Hell, check out all of Steve Vai's Favored Nations record label. Tons and tons of amazing guitarists as far as the eye can see. I think there's only about 5 albums on that entire label that I don't have or want.

One resource that's been great for me is Amazon's 'people who bought this also bought..." listing on every CD's page. I've greatly broadened my horizons by checking out those recommendations, and added a ton of CDs to my wishlist due to that. There's a ton of great stuff out there, you just have to look! Don't assume the crap that they mass market and spoonfeed is all that exists.

Here's a link.