The Importance Of Piracy In The Music Industry

In the article “Internet Piracy Harms Artists”, Phil Gardson explains how internet piracy such as online music sharing and other forms of copyrighting music hurts hardworking singers and songwriters. He also asserts that it is imperative that Congress should in act a law against these types of crimes to help protect artists.

Music piracy has been detrimental to the music industry and I believe it will only get worse with time. Music has become much easier for people to steal off the internet without paying the artist a dime. Technology continues to improve exponentially every year, because of these improvements in technology piracy has become much more accessible to music pirates. Overall album sales have gone down from 500 million units sold in 2007 to 200 million units sold in 2016. If this trend continues it will eliminate some of the smaller artists who depend on album sales to pay for studio time and other expenses. These lesser known artists also usually lack the funds to try to prosecute these music pirates and get their music off of the sites they are being

One aspect of copyright law which has gained much interest recently is music copyright infringement. There are many ways in which copyright infringement in the music industry can occur, but plagiarism is one of the most newsworthy copyright infringements in the music industry. Plagiarism in its most basic form is stealing and misrepresenting someone else’s ideas or words as one’s property and not giving the true owner credit. However, proving plagiarism in the music industry has its own unique challenges, and from these challenges come an important ethical issue. In Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” The original purpose of copyright law is not just to protect works from theft, but also to promote innovation and creativity. However, as shown in recent cases such as Williams v. Bridgeport Music et al. and Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, the legal system has shown its handling music plagiarism cases. By examining the standard procedure and case examples for music copyright infringement, two things become evident: The current laws adequately protect artists’ works, but in some instances, creativity is stunted by judicial system’s way of dealing with infringement. Thus, the judicial system has certain issues in heeding to the original purpose of copyright law.

From the moment consumers were able to use the internet to get music, software, and movies, piracy has had serious financial implications for the motion picture industry. Copyright protection presents some difficulty in illegally obtaining movies, but there are many avenues around most of these systems. The RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, has tried several legal ploys to prevent people from accessing this material, but many consumers continue to access it with little concern. Much like the music industry, which was challenged to reinvent its distribution model, the movie industry has to do the same thing. To counter the amount of piracy the movie studios must develop new systems for content delivery including streaming new release movies at home.

I love to hear music all the time. I enjoy listening to music while doing homework, cleaning, walking, and running. To me music is a part of my daily life. Therefore, I wanted to know what happens in my brain while I listen to music. Reading these two articles made me realize that music is actually a very good thing. I was very amazed to read that music helps children who suffer from trauma. I was also amazed of all the benefits there are to listening music. I was astonish to find out that music therapy exists. This might be the only way that some people with trauma can be help to improve how they are

Though it doesn 't receive as much attention in terms of media attention and public discourse as it earlier in the 2000s, the issue of copyrighted music and its illegal consumption over the internet still continues to be a major issue. With the advent of the internet, digital music, and mp3 players, one of the drawbacks for many of those in the music industry was the subsequent increase in pirated music that occurred. As illegal torrent sites appeared, such as Napster and Limewire, people were discovering that they could now download for free what they once paid for. Of course, as a direct result, music companies and artists both saw a significant decrease in sales in terms of the physical medium, with CD sales beginning to show sharp declines. In fact, this had a carryover effects of also closing down many of the mom and pop record stores that existed, since they did not have the financial means to withstand a restructuring process. Major chain stores were also not immune to the decline sales, as some once-prominent stores, such as the Virgin Megastore and the Wall, had to close down. Once Apple Inc. released its iPod and created the iTunes Store, the music industry was finally beginning to adapt itself to the digital realm, as Apple began signing agreements with most of the major music labels to release their songs on a digital platform as well. With songs being available individually for just $0.99 cents and whole albums able to be purchased, people now had a legal

The issues that will be slugged out in federal district court in San Francisco sound a little too pop culture to be all that serious. How many music CDs are people buying these days in record stores throughout the nation because of Napster? Is the technology that Napster uses legal? Napster is, of course, the wildly popular file-sharing service whose 20 million users have downloaded some half a billion songs--most copyrighted for free. The technology that Napster has brought to music listeners across the globe has allowed the freedom of obtaining music for free and should not be shut down by the entertainment industry's argument in federal court.

Once upon a time a website provided free music through peer-to-peer file sharing. This was a new technology for the public for a several reasons. The price of home computers had declines dramatically and many people could now afford one. Because of the affordability, many people who had never used a computer suddenly found themselves enmeshed in the new media. Not only could people do their e-mail, do paperwork, play games and use all the different applications they now could also share their files with others. Of course, they wanted to share one of our most valued pleasures, our love of music. The public was not aware that this type of file sharing was illegal because it was not clear on the website disclaimer. Most people did not

“Before the days of YouTube and the Internet, a band 's chances of striking it big depended on record companies. If a band was lucky enough to get a record deal, it gained access to a label 's vast resources and connections. The company paid for the band 's studio time, … and got its music played on the radio, reaching millions of record buying Americans” (Majerol, 1). Now, anyone with talent can post a video of themselves and become an internet sensation, only to then receive a deal with a label to continue growing their career. The issue is, with the Internet came digital downloading, and with the growing popularity of digital downloading came illegal downloading, known as Digital Piracy, which has affected the music industry greatly. This issue affects everyone involved in the Music Industry. From the small CD store owner to the Artist on stage, everyone has and continues to be affected by the growing popularity of digital downloading services. Artists, producers, and songwriters lose an estimated 12.5 Billion USD every year to illegal digital music services. Further, the economic impact from [digital downloading] is an estimated loss of 2+ Billion USD (Storrs, 1). This money affects the “little guys” in the industry and the average worker within the industry.

Intellectual property is the economic framework that underpins the British creative industry – music being one of them. Copyright is the currency of that framework. It can provide an incentive to the market to invest in brand new creative content, since every recording by an artist can be licensed for a specific value in the United Kingdom and globally, hence generating a substantial balance of export income for the UK. According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Creative industries are the third biggest export industry for the UK, which makes the monarchy the largest cultural economy in the world relative to GDP.

In today’s high-tech computer savvy world, one of the largest controversies brewing on the internet is the downloading and sharing of music using various peer-to-peer programs such as Kazaa, Limewire, Audio Galaxy, and many others. These programs use software that, “rather than going through a server to request information, can make requests directly to other software. This attribute is what allows users of P2P networks to freely exchange music, movies and other types of files (Friedenberg).”

On April 28, 2003 Apple revolutionized the music industry by creating the iTunes Music Store. For the first time consumers were able to purchase digital music that was immediately ready for download onto their iPod mp3 players. However, since the start songs downloaded from iTunes have protected by a digital rights management (DRM) scheme known as fair play. Soon after Apple opened their store several other companies opened competing stores, each with their own unique DRM scheme.

In the midst of the United States’ “dot com bubble” (years 1997-2000), there was a surge in technology that brought about file sharing and digital downloads. Threatening the survival of the music industry and introducing a unique set of challenges for the industry to overcome. To remain relevant in the new global market of digital music online, the music industry would have to evolve and change with the introduction of each new facet technology had to offer. The introduction of digitally compressed music files, so easily attainable for a small fee or downloaded legally (pirated) for free, made the music industry reevaluate how to make a profit and protect copyrights. Social media created a visible opportunity for both consumers and artists to maintain digital relationships while providing a platform for consumers to follow and discover new musicians and bands, naturally, making the internet a promotional medium for artists. As the corner record shops closed to make way for virtual storefronts and instant downloads; the internet, digital downloading, and social media made an enormous impact on the music industry that has changed the way consumers purchase, source, listen to, and produce music today.

So I was walking into the store when I heard my song being played. I turned and walked up to the group of kids that were playing it and they instantly recognized me. I asked them if they had purchased the album and they started laughing. Mind you, they really weren’t that old when one shouted out, “We download out music off a website.” When I got home I called my agent and told him about this website and he let me know that he knew about it and it was costing us hundreds of dollars.

In todays digital age it had become easier to download and distribute media. Many individuals have continued to evaluate whether or not punishments for media piracy are harsh enough. This essay will discuss the strengths and weakness of allowing the punishment to stay the same for media piracy. It will also demonstrate why increasing the punishment will have a negative effect on society.