File Sharing

I feel it’s time for me to write about an issue that seems to be all over the News again and something that affects me and millions of other people on a Daily basis. File Sharing, Illegal Downloading, Stealing or whatever else you want to call it, is a problem that has been around for 10 or so years now. We all know what it is, how it works and that it’s wrong; however it’s a force that in the past few years has now become unstoppable.

From a personal perspective I cannot see the problem with ME ‘illegally’ downloading certain files. Out of all the people I have ever met in my life, I am still yet to come across someone that loves Music more than me, which is why I think I can make a valid point on this issue. From the start of 2010 I have acquired 784 songs and we are not even out of March yet - crazy right? Well………not really.

As a Student I have a lot of spare time on my hands and a very unhealthy bank balance, so I need to carefully choose what Music I buy and support. Throughout the past 3 months I have bought a lot of Music: Emancipator - Safe In The Steep Cliffs, Example - Won’t Go Quietly, Ty - Emotions, Gorillaz - Plastic Beach, Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea, Strong Arm Steady - In Search Of Stoney Jackson, Wiley - Never Be Your Woman and M-Trey & Drew Beat - Immaculate Dopeness (Unsigned Hip-Hop duo from Chicago) & More. My point is; I illegally downloaded each of those Singles/Albums before I bought them, just so I knew that my money was going to a project I thoroughly enjoyed. After spending this £40-£50 within 3 months, there is a lot of other Music out there, which I can’t afford to buy; but does that really mean I don’t have the right to listen to it? I don’t think so. I have listened to their work and made an educated choice on where the money I have earned should go.

Today I downloaded Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip’s new album ‘Logic of Choice’, which is an album I have been anticipating greatly since hearing Angles in 2008. My Bank Balance currently stands at -£1,397.39, which means I have £1.03 available and am unable to buy anything; so I shall be purchasing the album on Friday when I get paid. I am also going to see them at Cockpit in Leeds on Thursday to support them as I feel they are a revolutionary pair that have created a whole new genre of Music. Now can anyone say there is anything wrong with that? I doubt it.

I can understand that there are people illegally downloading their whole libraries and not putting ANY money back into the Music Industry, but that’s not everyone is it. A lot of people download Music to increase their knowledge and widen their perspective when it comes to certain genre’s and I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I would never usually buy an Indie/Rock album, and neither would I expect an Indie fan to buy a Hip-Hop album out of the blue, so if it wasn’t for illegal downloading then I would have never listened to the Temper Trap album in 2009, which I bought and it ended up becoming one of my favourite albums of the year (same with Miike Snow).

It’s a never ending argument, but it is something that is never going to be stopped unfortunately.

SUPPORT GOOD MUSIC!

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Meet Tom Chambers

AKA the one of best Photographers I have EVER seen.

Tom, now at Brighton University, won his first camera (HERE) when he was 12yrs old as a prize for an opinion survey incentive, and because it was digital he just went out and took pictures of anything and everything. As a child Tom was always told that Photography was something that ‘you cant make any money out of’ or a field where ‘there’s too much competition’ and when he finished 6th form, this led him to do accountancy at University and he sort of lost sight of his photography. However; when he restarted the next September doing Media Studies he wanted to pick it up again and saved up enough money to get a decent entry level DSLR and since last February everything surrounding his photography has blossomed.

I personally met Tom through Twitter due to his work with Example on both the Lily Allen and Tinchy Stryder tours and even throughout this short space of time, it has become evident that his work is rapidly improving and he has become a more well-rounded Photographer. Away from these two events, his favourite type of shoot is still the club night photography he does. The nights are always loud and exciting and you get quite a lot of creative control with the lighting, which helps with photo’s from both the dance floor and inside the DJ booth. One of his best shoots to date was when Rusko played Supercharged (a weekly Wednesday night dnb/dubstep night), producing some of his best photographs to date: (1, 2, 3)

When Tom leaves Uni, he wants to continue photographing, and making videos. His brother also makes videos and works in London, so it would naturally be the sensible option to move to London with him in the next few years, as the opportunities and contacts to be made there are much greater than in Brighton. They’re planning on making a documentary on the Drum & Bass scene, which is something I am genuinely looking forward to seeing.

I asked Tom to send me the one picture that he has taken, which sums up the way he sees life right now, and this was what he gave me:

“It shows on the right the tranquil and calm clouds (photo was taken 2000ft above sea level - so its above the clouds) and on the left the hectic rushing traffic that blurs with its speed. I think this sort of shows life as it can be hectic and busy and totally mad sometimes, and other times you just get to chill out?”

Exciting times for a talented young man.

If you want to contact Tom, you can find him here:

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