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Supporting the Artists

A while back, my sister sent me a link to a YouTube video.  Specifically, she sent me a link to the Airplanes song by B.O.B. (side note: it took me a few minutes of researching both the artist's name and punctuation rules to determine the proper way to end that last sentence).  I liked it after the first listen, so I tucked the song's name into the back of my head for future reference.

Now, when it comes to music, I don't usually download songs right away.  I usually wait a little while on them, just to make sure that I really do like the song in question after listening to it multiple times.  It's sort of like making sure it'll stand the test of time, only "the test of time" only takes about a week or so.  In the meantime, I end up going to YouTube if I want to listen to that song.  In fact, that's the other part of the test; if I find that I'm constantly looking up the same song, I should probably just go buy the track.

Yes, you read that correctly; I said "buy" the song.  I've never really been that big on illegally downloading music, although I don't really have a good reason for that.  Part of it is that I've never had a desire to have a huge music library in the first place, I suppose.  Another part of it is that I've always been a bit of a worrywart about ending up with all sorts of malware, adware, viruses, etc. on my laptop from file sharing programs (yes, I know that it's practically a negligible risk).  The last part of it is that I have a job, and I can afford the minimal music that I buy.  It makes me feel like a big boy to pay for my music, if you will (side note #2: this sentiment reminds me a little bit of Tupac's Dear Mama around 2:10, when he says he "loves payin' [his mom's] rent when the rent's due").


Anyhow, I listened to the song enough times that I figured I should probably just buy it, and I headed over to iTunes.  I went through the usual motions, only to discover that it was an "album only" track.  What the heck?  What's the point of having individual tracks if I can't actually purchase them?  Yes, I understand the point of "bonus" material on an album; no, that doesn't help me.  Well, I wasn't about to buy the whole album, so I grudgingly closed the application and went about my business.


If that was all there was to it, though, I wouldn't be typing at this moment.  A few days later, I was listening to the radio on the drive to work, and I heard  the DJ introduce "Airplanes" by B.O.B.  I grumbled just a tad as it started, but shortly thereafter, my annoyance turned into surprise.  It turns out that the link my sister sent me was for a remix, and the original was the one that they played on the radio.  That explained why the song was an album-only bonus track.  I suppose I could have figured it out sooner, but I hadn't.  Anyhow, this gave me a sliver of hope, since I might like the original enough to buy that one instead.  On that first listen in the car, it seemed okay, so things were looking up.


The song didn't last a week.  Heck, I'm not sure it lasted a day.  I remember listening to it a little more closely on the second (maybe third?) time, and I wasn't all that impressed.  So much for that plan.


You know what's even worse?  I was at someone's house when that person was looking to download a completely unrelated album in a slightly-less-than-legal manner.  On a whim, I asked that person to look up whether that single was available as a torrent.  Yup, it was.  So I can't legally buy the song, but I can find a pirated version of that song.  And the one version of that song that I can buy isn't something that I'd want to buy.  Just great.


As a result of all this, I've come to three conclusions:
1. Supporting the artists is hard.  I still don't pirate stuff, but I can't say I blame anyone for deciding to forgo conventional channels if it's this difficult to purchase content.
2. The universe really does like messing with me sometimes.  I try to do the "right thing" and then I'm foiled pretty much at every turn.
3. YouTube is my friend
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