Wholesale music theft is dramatically damaging to the entire music community. And contrary to what some people would tell you, it’s having a very real and harmful effect on countless musicians, independent record stores, singer/songwriters and virtually everyone who dreams about making a living providing the public with their music.
According to the global music body IFPI, the ratio of illegal tracks downloaded to legal tracks sold is 20 to 1.
Among Internet-connected music consumers, those who say they are downloading on P2P also say they are purchasing less.
What Others Have to Say
Whether it involves music, videos, movies or software, the theft of intellectual property is a big problem that’s attracting an increasing amount of attention. Check out what’s been written.
Share your music — lose your identity
The Hill
By Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.)
March 3, 2008
Use Illegal Music Downloading To Give Kids A Lesson On Ethics
The Tampa Tribune
February 24, 2008
Use illegal music downloading as a chance for a lesson on ethics
Kansas City Star
Steve Rosen
February 16, 2008
A Warning Against Files Sharing On Campus
Daily Campus –University of Connecticut’s Student Newspaper
Letter to the Editor
February 12, 2008
Going after illegal downloads - Industry is justified in pursuing students and others who copy songs without paying
Las Vegas Sun
Editorial
January 8, 2008
The Hidden Risk of File-Sharing
Wall Street Journal
Joseph De Avila
November 7, 2007
Making money making music
Making money making music
Delaware News Journal
Opinion by ALAN E. GARFIELD
November 4, 2007
Curbing high-tech theft
Columbus Dispatch
October 22, 2007
File-sharing pirates aren't the victims
Fresno Bee
John Zelezny
October, 21, 2007
Stealing is stealing
Tufts Daily
Staff Editorial
September 10, 2007
Congress: P2P networks harm national security
CNET
Anne Broache
July 24, 2007
Down to Business: Why Our Intellectual Property Is Worth Protecting
Information Week
By Rob Preston
July 7, 2007
Download music, share bank account info for free on P2P networks
Computerworld
Jaikumar Vijayan
June 12, 2007
Sharing MP3s May Mean Sharing Far More Than Just Music
Associated Press
Jamie Levy Pessin
June 6, 2007
First, do no harm to the intellectual property system
The Hill
Tom Giovanetti
April 25, 2007
The Santa Ynez Valley's Michael Jackson spent last Saturday riding in a bus around Manhattan branding the head of his music label racist and stopping to picket the studio's headquarters.
It's the talk of Tinseltown. We'll resist commenting on the merits of the claims by the so-called King of Pop. Instead, what struck us was that Mr. Jackson's antics provide another example of the troubled music business.
In the age of free music on the Net, record companies no longer seem to be bursting with cash. The recording industry will have to turn on itself as never before to fight over the declining spoils.
But what's next? Recall the sign taped on the storefront window of Morninglory Music in Isla Vista earlier this year. It read, "Morninglory Music is closed for good in Isla Vista, due to lack of business. (There was no way to compete with free downloadable music and CD burners)."
Expect more to come unless there's a culture change about the blatant theft of copyrighted material enabled by high-tech advances.
Many point fingers at teens and college students. It's true that students at UCSB and other schools across the country are expert pirates. They buy the hot releases and make copies on a CD burner. They give them away or sell them at bargain prices to friends.
Others simply download copyrighted songs from the Net without buying anything. It's possible to piece together, say, the entire new Sheryl Crow release from the Web. There even are sites that enable people to copy CD art and packaging.
Presto, an instant duplicate CD.
But it isn't just kids who are into this virtual shoplifting. Older music lovers increasingly are joining the club without any remorse that they're copying material rightfully owned and created by others. In some cases they're using their kid's computer.
We're no Luddites. But this slippery slope is a worry because of what it could mean for business beyond the music industry. It's also a question of personal ethics.
Electronics retailer Circuit City last month said it will stop selling films on VHS and only stock DVDs. Other chains will follow.
Technology now lets people easily copy not just songs but feature-length films. The Internet allows people to send copies of movie DVDs to friends or strangers around the world. Any new encryption technology to prevent pirating ultimately would only get cracked.
Much of California's prosperity depends on the entertainment industries. Movies are an economic engine fueling Santa Barbara's nightlife too. Movie-goers crowd State Street and other venues. They buy dinners at restaurants and drinks at taverns, so not just movie houses are at risk.
More laws aren't the answer because they would be unenforceable except in extreme cases of intellectual property theft. Existing statutes can handle those violations.
It shouldn't come down to fear of the copyright cops. Instead, adults need to instill in young people that copying or selling pirated CDs and DVDs is nothing more than shoplifting. It's a lesson that some adults need to learn as well.
Reprinted with permission from the Santa Barbara News-Press.
March 25, 2002
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DOONESBURY © 2002 G. B. Trudeau. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All Rights reserved.
- What Artists Have to Say
- Artists and songwriters speak out against illegal copying. See what they have to say.
- Who Really Cares?
- We do and so should you. Who we are and what we believe.
- The Law
- Copyright infringement is a crime. Find out what the law says.