http://becausemollysaidso.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/pirateskull.jpg
“The internet has become emblematic of
globalization” (Shah, Nisha 2008). While there are numerous reasons as to why
this is, it is mainly because the Internet has made the “instantaneous transfer
of information” (Shah, Nisha 2008) accessible to many across the globe. But
what happens when sharing information across the Internet is a catalyst for
piracy? We have all seen the anti-piracy advertisements at the beginning of our
movies and television shows, which all the while appear bizarre, as the
anti-piracy campaign targets those whom have legitimate hardcopies.
Piracy is often thought of as the theft
of an object, however when something is illegally downloaded there exists the
original copy. While the illegal downloading and file sharing of music has “attribute(ed) the
recent sales declines in the recording industry” (Fivelsdal, H 2005), this raises
additional legality issues surrounding the music industry.
Think
of remix artists, and disc jockeys. Have you ever been out at a nightclub when
the resident musician has sampled from your favorite song? Without the proper
acknowledgement and royalty check this too is stealing. Should these artists
have to pay for every sample of music they use? And here in lies the foremost
problem with the theft of music. There exist only so many musical notes in the
world. Therefore, theoretically, eventually someone will inadvertently play the
same notes that some other recording artist has already used. Is this stealing?
With the finite amount of notes existing, eventually combinations are going to
repeat. So how can this be theft?
The
main contention from the music industry is that it “no longer maintains control
over music distribution” (Fivelsdal, H 2005), whereas now the Internet has
removed their ability to control and restrict access.
It
comes down to the rights of the recording artist’s vs. the right of freedom of
information, and the amount of blurred lines that occur between them. Ultimately
it is up to the consumers morale compass as to whether it is theft, or their
right to have access to the music. What do you think?
Citations
References
Fivelsdal, H 2005, 'Moving Toward a Balanced and Effective
Response to Internet Music Piracy', JMM: The International Journal On Media
Management, 7, 3/4, pp. 121-126, Communication & Mass Media Complete,
EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2013.
Shah, Nisha. "From global village to global
marketplace: Metaphorical descriptions of the global Internet."
International Journal Of Media & Cultural Politics 4, no. 1 (January 2008):
9-26. Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed August 21,
2013).
Really well thought out and logical piece. I like how you made a clear definition of theft and discussed how the act of piracy by online downloading doesn’t quite fit. But in saying so, I have to disagree with certain parts of your argument. Firstly I think the idea of online downloading and theft is similar to that of plagiarism and intellectual theft, rather than physically stealing an item. To download someone’s music is like taking their work and making it your own, without going through the correct process, such as citations or buying. But I also like how you used the idea of DJ’s and music sampling to show how embedded it has become in our society and that the issue is so widespread that it’s hard to imagine a world without it!
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