How Much Does Music and Movie Piracy Really Hurt the US Economy
Music Piracy
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Despite seeming evidence to the contrary the major players on the global music industry continue to claim that piracy is ‘killing’ new music, to what extent is illegal copying either, a criminal act or a democratising of popular culture? By Jade Mori, Laura Whitehead, Bethan Clift and Hannah Sutton
Transcript of Music Piracy
- 1. Despite seeming evidence to thecontrary the major players on the globalmusic industry continue to claim thatpiracy is killing new music, to whatextent is illegal copying either, acriminal act or a democratising ofpopular culture?By Jade Mori, Laura Whitehead, Bethan Cliftand Hannah Sutton
- 2. Can you clarify to me what music piracy actually is, people dont alwaysknow the ins and outs of the matter.Music piracy is a form of copyright infringementwhich means the owners rights are violated.Copyright law protects the value of creative work. When you make unauthorizedcopies of someones creative work, you are taking something of value from theowner without his or her permission. - RIAA
- 3. Who would know if I copied a CD and gave itto my friend, or downloaded something off the internet which I hadnt paid for?Even though companies such as the RIAA represent record labelsand try to monitor illegal downloads, the increasing volume makesit extremely difficult to control.The history of music piracy also parallels the history of musicrecording and distribution. While it is very difficult to reproducevinyl albums on a massive scale, the transition to cassette tapesand later to CDs [,and now downloads] made musicreproduction, and therefore piracy, much easier. (Pang, L 2006)
- 4. Whats the RIAA? The RIAA is the Recording Industry Association of America who aim to support and promote major record labels which contribute to 85% of all legitimate recorded music.While downloading one song may not feel that serious ofa crime, the accumulative impact of millions of songsdownloaded illegally and without any compensation to allthe people who helped to create that song and bring it tofans is devastating. - RIAA
- 5. I didnt realise that the downloading of onesong could affect so many people. That musthave quite big consequences with so muchillegal downloading occurring?Did you hear about the Metallica case in 2000? The band found over300,000 illegal downloaders names and took them to the RIAAwhich took action and temporally closed Napster down.
- 6. I asked you earlier how illegal downloads are killing the music industry but what about theeffects it has had on unknown artists? Surelythere are some benefits?Illegal downloads are a good thing in popular culture as itprovides smaller, lesser known artists with the chance to becomemore recognised and listened to.A creative person would prefer their music to be stolenand enjoyed than ignored.- Pete Townshend, The WhoSinger/song-writer, Ed Sheeran gained his first, topten single in 2011, by reaching number two whilst stillunsigned.
- 7. ConclusionSo, everyone knows that music piracy and downloading freemusic is illegal and a criminal act but it is easier to get away withit, therefore the seriousness of the crime can be forgotten. It isperhaps seen to be killing the industry as record labels are losingout on the profits they once had, but in the short term newerartist are becoming more well-known and may be gaining inother ways.Downloading is a facet of a much larger and irrefutable fact: the internet ishere to stay and it is in the process of revolutionizing many aspects of humansociety. Frank Turner, Musician
- 8. BibliographyAmbrosek, R (2007). Shawn Fanning: The Founder of Napster. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.p79-85.Blake, A (2007). popular music: The age of multimedia. London: Middlesex University Press. p1-125.Griffiths, S.J. (2011). The Who legend asks "Can John Peelism survive the Internet?". Available:http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20111101_johnpeel.shtml. Last accessed 1st Feb 2012.Michaels, S. (2008). Illegal downloading is here to stay. Available:http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/04/illegal.downloading.is.here.to.stay. Last accessed 5thFeb 2012Pang, L (2006). Cultural Control and Globalization in Asia: Copyright, piracy, cinema. Oxon: Routledge.p80-82.RIAA. (2012). Piracy. Available:http://www.riaa.com/physicalpiracy.php?content_selector=piracy_details_online. Last accessed 8th Feb2012.Turner, F. [email protected]. Popular Music Assignment. 31st January 2012.Unknown. (2012). From busking on Grafton St to the Brit Awards, Ed Power charts the incredible rise ofthe young, million-selling singer/songwriter . Available:http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/from-busking-on-grafton-st-to-the-brit-awards-ed-power-charts-the-incredible-rise-of-the-young-millionselling-singersongWinterson, J., Nickol, P and Bricheno, T. (2003). Pop Music: The Text Book. 2nd ed. London: PetersEdition Limited. p1-174.
