This is during the era before Spotify existed: during the time CD's were big along with the infancy of iTunes including the first iPods during the early 2000s (third party sites is where users uploaded mp3 files of songs, the full length available for free download) my cousins would often download entire albums.

The same crap generations before did with vinyls (with a wax mold, used to etch the soundtrack onto a wax copy but audio is shit) since buying an official copy from a record store isn't cheap for some people. I've heard "torrented" songs from cassettes (via a tape recorder) when the radio played a song, press record.

Music stores in the 90s would sell CDs of the latest hits from known artists of the time, a friend would buy a copy then rip the hell out of it by "pirating" the entire album onto a blank CD-R. Pirates did the same with concerts of famous singers, placing a tape recorder on the side adjacent of where the singer would perform.

top 20 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 30 minutes ago

I have been to parties (granted not many compared to my peers) around that time period so Im going to say yes.

[–] Chronographs@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Torrenting isn’t a slang term for pirating, you can legally torrent things it’s just a file transfer protocol

I’m guessing “SilentStriker” Is also you

[–] murmelade@lemmy.ml 2 points 58 minutes ago

No way, that's illegal!

[–] monstoor@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 hours ago

I would say "nice try FBI!", but I think they have their hands full at the moment.

[–] nimpnin@sopuli.xyz 36 points 5 hours ago

[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 hours ago

The cassette era was fun. Copies all the way down, they were more convenient too, often you could fit two albums in one 90 minutes tape.

A lot of recording from the radio, often late at night when there were less ads, the DJ had less to say and played more obscure stuff.

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 24 points 5 hours ago

Pretty sure back then we didn't even call it piracy. It was a normal, and perfectly legal thing to do. I remember my uncle and parents copy songs to casettes so 10yo me could listen to my favorite songs on my casette deck. We shared audiobooks with the neighbourhood kids (without copying them). We made mixtapes for the car stereo. And a new mixtape for every road trip. We also "pirated" the TV. Have the VHS record the Star Trek episode because I wasn't home on thursdays at 4pm. Or record some awesome blockbuster movie to re-watch it later.

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 31 points 6 hours ago

Nice try, RIAA!

[–] Strayce 5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

What? I thought this was a maritime comm.

[–] HuudaHarkiten@piefed.social 1 points 3 hours ago

It is, you can download a boat.

Probably.

[–] emotional_soup_88@programming.dev 6 points 5 hours ago

Kazaa + Linkin Park + mp3 player = <3

[–] HuudaHarkiten@piefed.social 1 points 3 hours ago

I had a bunch of c-cassettes where every song started with the radio DJ talking over the intro and ended with the radio DJ or a commercial starting to play over it. Thank god for cd-r, that cassette thing didn't last too long. It was pretty annoying to wait 40-60minutes for the song you wanted to start playing and often it would be ruined by the radio DJ talking endlessly over it.

[–] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I have recorded songs off the radio onto cassette. I have made mix tapes. First off records, later CDs. There was a general trade going on at school among friends. Somebody would get a new album on tape or on CD and when the owner had listened to it enough times it would make the rounds so people could record it for themselves. Musical socialism.

I have made Minidisc mix tapes as well. I went as far as recording concerts from VHS onto Minidisc. Adding track names was harder than T9 texting and took fucking ages.

I ripped and burned CDs, some of them are still stashed away in an attic somewhere.

I don't remember the infancy torrenting service that we used around the turn of the century. It wasn't Napster. I also made mix tapes of downloaded songs onto CD. To play more easily because there weren't any iPods yet but everyone had a stereo.

Now I stream the music I used to steal. Can't feel great about it because I know the artists get next to nothing for it.

I miss having a good stereo. Now it's crappy phone speakers or compressed Bluetooth shit.

[–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe limewire or sharebear?

Napster was hilarious because you would start a download of one song and another user would finish it with a different copy. Sometimes you would get a completely different song for the second portion.

[–] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 3 points 5 hours ago

I can't remember. As you can tell from my lengthy historical summary, I'm old enough to use that as an excuse.

[–] blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 hours ago

Yeah, used to have a double tape deck for recording tapes I'd borrowed.

Then a CD tape deck, samesamebutdifferent.

Also had two VHS linked up in series so go to the video rental place and rent a fillum - press play on one and record on the other.

Taping films off of the TV as well.

Never did the tape off the radio though, was never quick enough

[–] Vanth@reddthat.com 2 points 4 hours ago

I was super good at recording the local music radio station to a cassette tape to minimize the DJs chatter. My brother would pay me to catch songs for him. Too bad he had awful taste.

[–] remon@ani.social 5 points 6 hours ago

Apart from the cassette and CD I had as a child and the occasionally listing to the radio in someone else's car, I think I've never not listened to pirated music.

[–] observes_depths@aussie.zone 2 points 5 hours ago

I used to get most of my music from mp3raid as a teenager

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 2 points 5 hours ago

Bird Song