Americans Copying Shitty Music They Refuse to Buy
Pirate downloading, copying blamed for CD sales decline
BY
RAMON NOOTLES Los Angeles, CA
ANSEL EVANS
One guy buys CD while hundreds of friends line up to make copy.
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Record companies were faced with a 10% drop in CD sales from 2000 to 2001, and are
quick to point the finger squarely at internet music piracy and illegal CD copying. Now the
awful songs and albums consumers refuse to buy are available to them for free elsewhere.
“It used to be someone would have to buy an album just to find out it was crap,” said
recording industry lawyer Snig Partridge. “Now they spend hours downloading it, take one
listen, and mutter they’re glad they didn’t buy it.
“That’s our money!” yelled Patridge, leaping across the desk and savagely attacking this
commune reporter.
There is some validity to the maniacal lawyer’s complaints. A recent survey conducted found
nearly 25% of respondents were downloading or making hardcopies of CDs they didn’t want
to buy. Numerous reasons were cited, such as the expense of purchasing CDs, the ease and
availability of pirating materials, the chic of bragging about burning or downloading something,
the lack of new Beatles material, but most popular among the answers was “just don’wanna.”
Many record industry analysts are puzzled by the slow down in CD sales, given the height of
artistry of popular music with acts such as Britney Spears, Nelly Furtado, Creed, Pink, Uncle
Kracker, and No Doubt topping the charts.
“It’s obvious music is experiencing a renaissance,” remarked some dreadlocked teen at a music store, in
a voice that didn’t sound at all sarcastic.
“I don’t get it,” said Marx Kapital Records CEO Fred Ingells. “People hear the single. They
like the single. They hum the single. They don’t buy the album. Something’s not right here.”
In 2000, music product sales totaled $14.3 billion. A year later that amount had dropped
catastrophically to $13.7 billion.
“$13.7 billion! How are we supposed to live on $13.7 billion?” shouted Snig Partridge, this
time leaping out from behind a Volkswagen on the street and attacking this commune reporter
long after our interview had finished.
Across the music industry, response from record company representatives has ranged from
perturbed to dismayed.
“Y’all fuckin’ my money now, biatch,” growled A’ight Records President Tru Dat Williams,
cocking a Glock and firing blindly out the window in a confessed effort to hit potential music
pirates.
“What makes me sad is the poor artist,” said Ingells. “When you steal a CD by bootlegging it
from a friend or downloading it from the internet, you’re stealing a dollar out of their pocket.
A whole dollar, or considerably less if we’re talking just singles and EPs here.”
Several artists were contacted to hear their reaction to this matter, but instead of listening to
the interview tapes we burned copies of them and sold them on eBay as bootleg interviews.
Snig Partridge then leaped out of our filing cabinet, knocked this commune reporter
unconscious and made off with all our unsold copies.
the commune news would be more into music piracy if they allowed you to wear parrots on
your shoulder and velvet coats. Ramon Nootles stands as a shining example to men everywhere,
especially for how not to handle a paternity suit.
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