Do we deserve to be criminals?
Everyday millions of people around the world commit a crime. They download and share music online without permission of the artist. Music is an intellectual property protected by law but almost no one is convicted for illegal music downloading and sharing as it is so rampant that the government cannot throw everyone in jail. That being said, should we be considered criminals for doing something that cannot be controlled even by law enforcement? Unless the government changes the structure of the music download market, monitors everyone's personal life and finds a way to promote musicians other than the internet, the answer is no.
The structure of the music download market is organized in a way that generates profit for businesses rather than musicians. Music distribution companies take a significant portion of revenue from an artist's music on the ground that they own the right to distribute the recordings. The concept of intellectual property is for the benefit of the creator. In the case of music, the creator is the artist. However, the artist gets the smallest piece of the pie when his or her music makes sales. In other words, when you pay $9.99 to listen to Maroon 5's newest album on iTunes, it is Apple who becomes rich at the end of the day not your favorite musician. Hence, there is no point in downloading tracks off the internet legally when our money does not even support artists.
There are so many means to attain a music file that the government will have to install a surveillance camera on every house to stop music piracy. Let's assume your friend purchased Ne-Yo's album that you wanted and decided to share it with you. Your friend could use the internet to upload the tracks on the blog or send them directly to your email. Another alternative might be burning a copy of the CD or simply using your phone to record the songs. With countless ways of copying music available, could the government monitor every act of crime we commit? Even if they regulate the internet to end illegal music piracy, other technological devices will always enable us to continue.
The world famous singer Psy would not be where he is today if it were not for the internet. It helped Psy's Gangnam Style attract worldwide attention and made Psy a super star in no time. Although downloading and sharing music online cannot be the source of revenue for musicians, it can certainly be the source of popularity. In fact, popularity can be the source of revenue as musicians can hold concerts, attend various events and even expand their career into acting. Simply put, artists can secure a solid foothold in the music industry at the cost of providing music for free.
There is no doubt that music piracy is getting out of hand. However, it is not the main cause of musicians suffering from financial difficulties. Besides, the copyright law failed to impose strict regulations from the start and set things right. With the law on intellectual property stuck in a catch-22 situation, we need to question whether people deserve to be called criminals for online music downloading and sharing. Making this act a crime will not make a difference due to the unfair structure of the music download market, plenty of ways to make copies and the benefit of the internet.
Jae Hyun Park/second draft/tues11am
ReplyDeleteDo we deserve to be criminals?
Everyday millions of people around the world commit a crime. They download and share music online without permission of the artist. Music certainly is an intellectual property protected by law. Nevertheless, illegal music downloading and sharing is so rampant that almost no one is convicted for it. That being said, should we be considered criminals for doing something that cannot be controlled even by law enforcement? Unless the government changes the structure of the music download market, monitors everyone’s personal life and finds a way to promote musicians other than the internet, the answer is no.
The structure of the music download market is organized in a way that generates profit for businesses rather than musicians. Music distribution companies take a significant portion of revenue from an artist’s music on the ground that they own the right to distribute the recordings. The concept of intellectual property was created to ensure that individuals have legal authority over their creations of the mind. In the case of music, artists are entitled to such right. However, they get the smallest piece of the pie when their music makes sales. Hence, there is no point in downloading tracks off the internet legally when our money does not even support the creators.
There are so many means to attain a music file that the government will have to install a surveillance camera on every house to stop music piracy. Let’s assume your friend purchased Ne-Yo’s album that you wanted and decided to share it with you. Your friend could use the internet to upload the tracks on the blog or send them directly to your email. Another alternative might be burning a copy of the CD or simply using your phone to record the songs. With countless ways of copying music available, could the government monitor every act of crime we commit? Even if they regulate the internet to end illegal music piracy, other technological devices will always enable us to continue.
The world famous singer Psy would not be where he is today if it were not for the internet. It helped Psy’s Gangnam Style attract worldwide attention and made him a super star in no time. Although downloading and sharing music online cannot be the source of revenue for musicians, it can certainly be the source of popularity. In fact, popularity can be the source of revenue as musicians with millions of fans can hold concerts, attend various events and even expand their career into acting. Simply put, artists can secure a solid foothold in the music industry at the cost of providing their music for free.
There is no doubt that music piracy is getting out of hand. However, it is not the main cause of musicians suffering from financial difficulties. Besides, the copyright law failed to impose strict regulations from the start and set things right. With the law on intellectual property stuck in a catch-22 situation, we need to question whether people deserve to be called criminals for online music downloading and sharing. Making this act a crime will not make a difference due to the unfair structure of the music download market, plenty of ways to make copies and the great benefit of the internet.
Jae Hyun Park/final draft/tues11am
ReplyDeleteDo we deserve to be criminals?
Everyday millions of people around the world commit a crime. They download and share music online without permission of the artist. Music certainly is an intellectual property protected by law. Nevertheless, illegal music downloading and sharing is so rampant that almost no one is convicted for it. That being said, should we be considered criminals for doing something that cannot be controlled even by law enforcement? Unless the government changes the structure of the music download market, monitors everyone’s personal life and finds a way to promote musicians other than the internet, the answer is no.
The structure of the music download market is organized in a way that generates profit for businesses rather than musicians. Music distribution companies take a significant portion of revenue from an artist’s music on the ground that they own the right to distribute the recordings. In the case of iTunes, you can pay $9.99 to listen to Maroon 5’s newest album. The problem is that even though you paid that money to help your favorite artist, it is Apple that gets most of your money at the end of the day. In other words, musicians get the smallest piece of the pie when their music makes sales. Hence, there is no point in downloading tracks off the internet legally when our money does not even support the creators.
There are so many means to attain a music file that the government will have to install a surveillance camera on every house to stop music piracy. Let’s assume your friend purchased Ne-Yo’s album and decided to share it with you. Your friend could use the internet to upload the tracks on the blog or send them directly to your email. Another alternative might be burning a copy of the CD or simply using your phone to record the songs. With countless ways of copying music available, could the government monitor every act of crime we commit? Even if they regulate the internet to end illegal music piracy, other technological devices will always enable us to continue.
The world famous singer Psy would not be where he is today if it were not for the internet. It is true that Psy only took 36 million won out of the total revenue of 10.7 billion won created by his music sales on the internet. However, the internet helped Psy’s Gangnam Style attract worldwide attention in the first place and made him a super star in no time. In fact, the enormous popularity Psy had gained from the internet opened the door to opportunities such as giving a speech at Harvard, appearing as a guest on famous TV shows and performing at world renowned music festivals. Simply put, artists can secure a solid foothold in the music industry at the cost of providing their music for free.
There is no doubt that music piracy is getting out of hand. However, it is not the main cause of musicians suffering from financial difficulties. Besides, the copyright law failed to impose strict regulations from the start and set things right. With the law on intellectual property stuck in a catch-22 situation, we need to question whether people deserve to be called criminals for online music downloading and sharing. Making this act a crime will not make a difference due to the unfair structure of the music download market, plenty of ways to make copies and the great benefit of the internet.