I think it is interesting that more and more the idea of Us vs. Them has become the norm when thinking about the record industry and everyone else. Have we really become a world of pirates and thieves? We can cite the corruption of the industry and justify our actions as "getting the word out" but in the end isn't it still really just stealing? When even the RIAA President's son is guilty of illegal downloads it is easy to think of music downloading as more of a way of life than an illegal action. Buying a T-shirt at the concert doesn't change the fact that you've deprived a band of the few dollars they get per CD/online sale and with all the legal free downloads sponsored by the artists wanting to "hear the band before buying the cd" is not a valid excuse. In the end though it doesn't how much it's costing the bands or how illegal it is, the idea that we can get away with something that could save us hundreds of dollars and have almost no chance of getting caught is too enticing to convince people to stop. The cliche analogy of "stealing a cd from a real store vs online" might sound stupid but in the end it is true test of what we as humans really do consider moral. I bet if there were little to no chance of getting caught most people would steal from record stores too if given the opportunity (maybe an unlocked door late at night with the employee in the back room and no cameras?) Almost every independent artist out there who you can't find in stores would be ecstatic to make even a single sale online and probably at a really cheap price; and that's if they aren't giving away their music legally anyways. I can't think of a single situation with the exception of unreleased material, where illegal downloading isn't wrong. I figure it's up to the lawmakers to decide whether or not to make it easier for the industry to pursue people who illegally download music, because as long as it's this easy to steal, why would people pay?
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Muser's Thoughts on Downloading
I think it is interesting that more and more the idea of Us vs. Them has become the norm when thinking about the record industry and everyone else. Have we really become a world of pirates and thieves? We can cite the corruption of the industry and justify our actions as "getting the word out" but in the end isn't it still really just stealing? When even the RIAA President's son is guilty of illegal downloads it is easy to think of music downloading as more of a way of life than an illegal action. Buying a T-shirt at the concert doesn't change the fact that you've deprived a band of the few dollars they get per CD/online sale and with all the legal free downloads sponsored by the artists wanting to "hear the band before buying the cd" is not a valid excuse. In the end though it doesn't how much it's costing the bands or how illegal it is, the idea that we can get away with something that could save us hundreds of dollars and have almost no chance of getting caught is too enticing to convince people to stop. The cliche analogy of "stealing a cd from a real store vs online" might sound stupid but in the end it is true test of what we as humans really do consider moral. I bet if there were little to no chance of getting caught most people would steal from record stores too if given the opportunity (maybe an unlocked door late at night with the employee in the back room and no cameras?) Almost every independent artist out there who you can't find in stores would be ecstatic to make even a single sale online and probably at a really cheap price; and that's if they aren't giving away their music legally anyways. I can't think of a single situation with the exception of unreleased material, where illegal downloading isn't wrong. I figure it's up to the lawmakers to decide whether or not to make it easier for the industry to pursue people who illegally download music, because as long as it's this easy to steal, why would people pay?
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1 comment:
nice post. i struggle with this issue all the time. i used to be buy-it-all-the-time, then i went to the download side, and as i said in class i'm half and half now, or something like that. in the end, we all rationalize downloading. sure, it takes money out of certain pockets ... my juicy rationalization is taking the money out of the pockets of big successful acts while putting money in the pockets of indies and less established bands. a rationalization, i know, but i sleep better at night. my brother is 100 percent pirate ... video, music, and i find it interesting that he's a staunch republican. the story of downloading, drm, and the digital music world is far from over ...
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