In current society copyright infringement in terms of music is a large concern for the record industry. Copyright infringement or as Steinmetz suggests in terms of downloading music known as “digital piracy” is theft by means of the internet, by illegally downloading or copying music without the permission and compensation from the copyright owner (Steinmetz, 54). This poses a large threat to record companies because if people are no longer purchasing music and obtaining it for free they face a large decrease in profits. It is mentioned that in the year 2000, when downloading music first became popular through Napster, CD singles dropped 39 percent (McCourt, 339). So to think about it this percentage has definitely risen over the last thirteen years and record labels are definitely suffering an immense amount .
When music began to become available through peer to peer networks many people took full advantage of it to update their Itunes to have every album that they every wanted at no cost. If music is on the internet and is free to virtually any person that has access, then what would be the point of purchasing it? (Condry, 347) In terms of my pirating music habits, I take full advantage of the fact that music is available through the internet at no cost. I understand that there are copyright laws that protect the songs and albums however if there are little to no consequences being administered for downloading then what would be the point of discontinuing. Condry mentions in his article that in March 2004, the RIAA underwent 2000 lawsuits for illegally pirating music through the internet. However most people would read this and figure that only 2000 people got caught, out of how many people are illegally obtaining music. So many people will take the risk of illegally downloading and “potentially” getting caught to update their playlist.
However I also feel that as technology progresses many people are moving towards applications that offer digital media like movies TV shows and music legally at a small price that is legal. Applications like Netflix, Itunes, 8tracks, Songza, and even Youtube are available for its users to legally access copies of these digital files. For example Netflix offer a large amounts of movies and TV shows at a low cost of approximately 8 dollars a month and Youtube allows you to access songs and music videos legally. I feel as though as technology advances the issue of piracy will slowly decrease because we will have other affordable means of obtaining digital media, and these applications will offer this digital media in better quality oppose to downloading.
References
McCourt, T., P. Burkart. (2003). When Creators, Corporations and Consumers Collide: Napster and the Development of On-line Music Distribution. Media, Culture & Society. 25 (3), pg. 333-350
Steinmetz, K., K. Tunnell (2013). Under the Pixelated Jolly Roger: A Study of On-Line Pirates. Deviant Behavior. 34 (1), pg. 53-67
Condry, Ian. (2004). Cultures of Music Piracy: An Ethnographic Comparison of the US and Japan. International Journal of Cultural Studies. 7 (3), pg. 343-363
I agree with the fact that if music is available to internet users at no cost, why would people purchase it. Almost anything is available to us through the internet today like books, computer programs, movies, television shows and music. I thought it was interesting that 39% of music sales dropped when Napster became popular. If you think about it there are so many more peer-to-peer websites available today that in the year 2000 and many more people have access to the internet so I can imagine how much sales have dropped for CD and single song purchases are. If you look at store like HMV who make most of their profits from selling CD’s you can see the full effects of piracy happening. Many HMV’s are closing down because of the lack of CD purchases happening, because people have moved to downloading their music. So not only is music piracy effecting record companies it is also affecting the overall economy in terms of jobs at record stores, and also the packagers of the CD’s.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that we are slowly moving towards progress with applications that are available through the internet. Netflix is a great idea and for only eight dollars a month offers hundreds of movies all available on your computer, tablet, or xbox. It is convenient and affordable and offers a wide range of movies to decrease the amount of downloads possible. There needs to be something developed like Netflix for movies. For example you would pay a certain amount per month and get a certain amount of downloads of your choice. Just an idea !