Internet piracy: the quest for digital treasure Pt. I
The law is more like guidelines anyway
Jennifer Washburn
Issue date: 9/30/09 Section: The Edge
I will admit that I download music. I will also admit that I do it illegally. I know that in recent years it has been frowned upon, but the ones who are opposed usually have millions of dollars, and say that the artists are not making money because people are stealing their music.
If pirating music is illegal, it should also be against the law for people to post video clips of themselves online performing songs by other artists. Free internet downloading allows new artists to get their music out to more people than through a record company. I will touch on three reasons why I am for pirating music - availability, artist support and easy access.
There are many programs that can be downloaded to get pirated music. Kazaa, Napster and Limewire are the most common ones that people use. The three programs have a basic format that people can download for free, but for a fee, users can upgrade to faster downloads, more selections and fewer viruses and spyware.
Piracy also supports new artists. Artists who are complaining about pirating music and/or illegal downloads have millions of dollars. If that comes from merchandise, whether it is T-shirts or bags or other things with their name on it, and ticket sales, not from album sales. Most of the album sale profits go to the record company.
The majority of songs downloaded are played on top 40 radio stations. Up and coming artists may use pirating to get music out to people. They, or someone else, may leak something and someone finds it, downloads it and allows others to access it.
Up and coming artists are also putting clips onto Web sites like YouTube and MySpace. Journey found new frontman Arnel Pineda on YouTube. Since people are putting clips of themselves on YouTube and MySpace, their music and/or videos can get downloaded somewhere. They will be bootlegged. They will be pirated. It is something that people or the government really can't control.
Finally, because of the accessibility of programs for downloading music, pirated music is easily available. If something is released, chances are that someone will find a file of it and share it over something like Limewire or BitTorrent.
If pirating music is illegal, it should also be against the law for people to post video clips of themselves online performing songs by other artists. Free internet downloading allows new artists to get their music out to more people than through a record company. I will touch on three reasons why I am for pirating music - availability, artist support and easy access.
There are many programs that can be downloaded to get pirated music. Kazaa, Napster and Limewire are the most common ones that people use. The three programs have a basic format that people can download for free, but for a fee, users can upgrade to faster downloads, more selections and fewer viruses and spyware.
Piracy also supports new artists. Artists who are complaining about pirating music and/or illegal downloads have millions of dollars. If that comes from merchandise, whether it is T-shirts or bags or other things with their name on it, and ticket sales, not from album sales. Most of the album sale profits go to the record company.
The majority of songs downloaded are played on top 40 radio stations. Up and coming artists may use pirating to get music out to people. They, or someone else, may leak something and someone finds it, downloads it and allows others to access it.
Up and coming artists are also putting clips onto Web sites like YouTube and MySpace. Journey found new frontman Arnel Pineda on YouTube. Since people are putting clips of themselves on YouTube and MySpace, their music and/or videos can get downloaded somewhere. They will be bootlegged. They will be pirated. It is something that people or the government really can't control.
Finally, because of the accessibility of programs for downloading music, pirated music is easily available. If something is released, chances are that someone will find a file of it and share it over something like Limewire or BitTorrent.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
brad
posted 10/01/09 @ 1:09 PM CST
While bigger artists can afford it, up and coming artists often have to come up with the money to support their touring and if they are band openers, are often overlooked. (Continued…)
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