...Music Piracy and its Effects on the Demand, Supply, and Prosperity of the Music Industry Abstract In an era where pop culture and technology are rapidly growing, intertwining and becoming embedded in the everyday lives of Americans, it was inevitable that their paths would cross. Possibly the most affected medium of pop culture is the music industry. The growth and development of the internet is either their biggest gift or biggest curse. Modern technology has made wide-scale trading of music possible in the form of MP3 files available over the internet for free. Users can simply upload the files to these sharing sites and millions of others at any given time have the ability to download it from them. The Recording Industry Association of America, however, doesn’t share the enthusiasm about these file sharing practices. To them, it is stealing from the record company and from the artist themselves. Consumers don’t tend to see it that way. The issue that arises here is whether or not should music be accessible for free trade over the internet. On the one hand, it is thought that MP3 downloads reduce sales of legitimate CDs. On the other hand, it can be argued that downloading free MP3s could actually encourage someone to buy a CD which they may not have purchased had they not heard it in its entirety. This is known as the sampling effect. The focus of this research paper will be to paper analyze the impact of music file sharing on the demand, supply, and prosperity...
Words: 6792 - Pages: 28
...BAMA with Media and Cultural Studies, Yr 3. School of Creative Enterprise. Digital Media: Report. 13.11.2009 What effect have Peer to Peer networks had on consumerism such as the selling of films and music? “In a P2P network, the "peers" are computer systems which are connected to each other via the Internet. Files can be shared directly between systems on the network without the need of a central server.” (http://www.techterms.com/definition/p2p) It is essential to understand the meaning of “Peer to peer” in order to study the subject in depth. This report aims to analyse and explore the effects of Peer to Peer networks in the music and film industry, and it’s effect on consumerism. In order to fully understand P2P networks, it is essential to study it’s historical and social context first. Peer to Peer networks started with the so called ‘Internet Boom’ in the late 1990’s. The first online file sharing services operating between 1999 and 2001 was Napster, created by Shawn Fanning. It was the first technology who allowed people to share their MP3 files with others. At the beginning only audio tracks were available for download and it took approximately 30 to 45 minutes for a song to download. Nowadays it takes about a few seconds for a song to download and from 10 to 20 minutes for a movie. However, Napster was soon shut down as it lead the music industry to accuse them of “massive copyright violations”. Moreover, in 10 years the number of users increased considerably...
Words: 1881 - Pages: 8
...of artists and music labels. They attempt to prevent piracy of artists’ work by in some cases prosecuting offenders. According to the RIAA, global piracy causes $12.5 billion of economic losses every year, 71060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers earnings (RIAA). How exactly then do prosecutors solve this issue? Their answer is to sue for excessive amounts, and even prosecuting to where it can lead up to 5 years in prison. One prime example of this unfair justice is the fairly new case involving Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who illegally downloaded over 1700 songs from a p2p network. It is unethical for such a corporation to incarcerate or even sue for such a misdemeanor offense (Barret, 2010). The evolution of how we obtain music has become easier to the public due to programs that allow people to download single songs or even albums, preventing them from having to leave their homes. Although it may seem effortless, downloading music has some stipulations that go along with how you are receiving the files. Basically what it boils down to is, if you did not pay for it, then it is illegal and considered piracy (RIAA). Illegal actions should be dealt with, but the question is, “Should the RIAA be rewarded such unruly amounts of cash, or better yet send people to jail over downloading a song?” This question leads to the ongoing court case that started in 2006, in which Jammie Thomas-Rasset is being penalized for illegally downloading and sharing music on Kazaa. In...
Words: 1326 - Pages: 6
...Digital piracy is making up profit from illegal copying and reselling music, videos, software videogames and other digital media which requires genuine. In 2005, loses of legal media and software industry from digital piracy was $200 billion (DSTI/IND (2007). Also, Oberholzer-Gee (2010) indicates that 60% of World Wide Web broadband busy by consumers’ video, game and music sharing. To avoid this issue intellectual proprietors use various methods. In this paper is shown methods to dodge problem of digital piracy. There are two ways to protect legal digital content from piracy. Firstly, there is indirectly impact to society, where manufacturers are producing additional equipment like guitars for game “Guitar Hero” and forwarding special social services where people can play with each other via internet, so while people playing, system is checking license (Goel, 2010). In addition, companies perform free software with fewer options than paid software. Moreover, some organizations such as Free Software Association and Open Source agitation, which advert spreading software for free have helped to grapple with problem of expensive software and companies that gain from this, for example, Microsoft (Hill, 2007). Secondly, there is direct impact on users, where companies and internet providers use methods which impacts directly on users such as blocking peer-to-peer connections between users and web-sites where users can download pirated software. Furthermore, closing the sources of...
Words: 1577 - Pages: 7
...to review digital piracy and to present the positive impacts and its benefit it has on businesses,publishers, and producers. Many people think that software piracy is hurting the economy, but this essay will give you reason to believe that this can open up new doors and allow everyone to enjoy content and information that would not have been so easily accessible in the past. Just because some may not make as much profit from this form of obtaining content, others will gain off of it. Piracy is one of the most frequently committed crimes in the world and many people do not even realize it. Although, if you were to look at it in a different perspective, it may not seem like a crime at all. Today 70 percent of online users don’t see illegal downloading as a form of “theft”(Wayne Scholes,2014). Most successful artists or producers make tens of millions of dollars every year. How much is piracy really hurting people? If it were truly hurting anyone then these people would not live in houses larger than the white house. Organizations like the MPAA or The Motion Picture Association of America is an association that represents six major Hollywood studios. These organizations often say that they are losing millions or maybe even billions of dollars to piracy. If Internet piracy did not exist then people would have no choice but to buy products legally, right? This is not always the case. Just because certain people pirate content like films off of torrent websites, does not mean...
Words: 1750 - Pages: 7
...Critical Response of the article, “Copying isn’t Cool” by Scott Matthews In the article "Copying Isn't Cool," the author Scott Matthews, a software developer addresses the issue of sharing copyrighted files. The author believes that such an act hurts the right of owners and stopping or changing the copyright laws will only cause more confusion and chaos. Thus, such laws need to remain the same and be enforced instead. The author’s purpose in writing this essay is to persuade the people who support the decision proposed by EFF to change the copyright laws that such an act does more harm than good. The author was successful in persuading the readers as the article was well-organized, easy to read and quite persuasive because the reasoning was good; however, it lacked sufficient evidence in some places, and was bias. The article mainly argues that pirating copyrighted material is a serious issue today that is immoral and should be stopped. Though the author is open to discussion, he argues against the system of compensation for copyright holders proposed by EFF that suggests that all downloads be taxed, claiming that it would encourage file-sharing to an extent that it becomes unstoppable. It would also compromise free speech and privacy which would go against the claimed ideologies of the EFF itself. The author seems a fairly open minded person and this is reflected in the article. He does not have a mind-set against changing file-sharing laws but rather proposes a debate in...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...internet and its ever increasing pervasiveness has caused extensive digitization of copyrighted content not limited to a single format and subsequently an increase in online piracy. This combined with the advent of P2P file sharing mechanisms as a massive means of infringement practice has led to a paradigm shift in the approach to copyright infringement. Where unauthorized copying of a work was earlier considered a means of increasing a work’s market by stimulating its network effects, it is today seen as an unfair practice, a hindrance to the content owners and artists creative and financial viability. This shift has seen associations like RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) take desperate measures to curb illegal file sharing, the latest means of which is the “Three Strikes Rule” also known as The Graduated Response Plan. This paper starts with a brief overview on why copyright laws are important to content owners and discusses illegal file sharing, its history and the various means used for it. We then discuss the various approaches that representative bodies like RIAA have taken in the past and why the transition to the Graduate Response Plan, how it operates, its relative advantages and disadvantages to the various set of people involved in the copy right system and finally some mutually beneficial strategies that if implemented can make the Graduate response System more effective and socially acceptable...
Words: 5226 - Pages: 21
...some steal from businesses, steal ideas from each other, and often take what they don’t deserve. People steal music online, illegally download movies, etc. However, I think of the man with his lonely bag, and how if one were to take say a tube of toothpaste from him, it would leave a resounding effect on his life, besides the initial hurt of having something taken from him. He would have to find a way to replace the object, and if it was something that he used to stay healthy, being without it could cause poor health effects. People are subconsciously aware of the difference one missing object would make on the homeless man’s life and that is why they walk past the bag rather than view...
Words: 1586 - Pages: 7
...To Share or not to Share Peter Todd Shawshank University To Share or not to Share Have you ever taped music off your favorite radio station? That's the old way you would do it if you can't afford the albums. Today people are not only downloading music off the internet but also pictures, movies, games, software and any other kind of computer files that could be beneficial. Each week there are more than one billion downloads of music files alone. Participation in file sharing has also grown. Over 60 million Americans above the age of twelve have downloaded music (Ipsos-Reid, 2002b). File sharing is heavily linked to youth. While a majority of Americans under 18 years old have downloaded and half of those are heavy users, only a fifth of those aged 35-44 have downloaded files (Edison Media Research, 2003). Among U.S. adults at least 18 years old, the number of downloaders has about doubled since 2000 (Pew Internet Project, 2000 and 2003). Because physical distance is largely irrelevant in file sharing, individuals from virtually every country in the world participate. When peers download, they don't all download from one place. Millions of peers around the world are connected and they download files off of each other's computer. Popular networks are Kazaa, WinMX, Limewire, Morpheus, Frostwire and many more. Downloading files is free, but many people are confused that it would be stealing. The RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) had announced that it is stealing...
Words: 1741 - Pages: 7
...Listeners tend to take free music for granted nowadays as tunes can be acquired easily from various sources. Many state this takes value away from the hard work dedicated to producing albums, while others disagree arguing that the availability of music in today’s day in age is vital to up and coming artists trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry. In a recent study done on 1,000 of the most recent artists to break into the industry over 50 percent of artists stated that they believed media piracy helps make their work known, while a mere 15 percent were against it. Regardless of one’s opinion, the framework of the music industry is ever changing as artists begin to shift their focus towards increased concert appearances, released singles, mix-tapes, and featuring themselves in fellow artists’ songs. All attempts to stay in the spotlight they worked so hard to attain. The shift in genre, radio, widespread internet, and the increase in media piracy has begun a downward spiral for the sale of albums. As you can see, music was at its peak in 1999 before the technology boom truly took off, creating a lapse in the need to buy hard copies on one’s favorite artists’ album. Since 2000, sales have steadily fallen making music purely memory on a computer. History will surely be lost as the internet continues to take off, leaving memories behind. Not everyone downloads music illegally; ITunes along with several other pay as you go music programs have seen great...
Words: 740 - Pages: 3
...While in the action of committing piracy, or breaking the law, many people always ask, "Does piracy really make a difference to the music or movie industry?" In most cases people would come to the conclusion that it does little to no difference but in all reality, it makes quite a large divot in the industries. According to Siwek, American workers suffer from the millions that download music illegally. Around 71,000 jobs and over two billion dollars in wages have been lost due to piracy in the music industry(I). With this in play, piracy really hurts the music industry. Some people will most likely think that downloading one song or one unpopular movie will not make much of a difference but it all adds up because so many people believe...
Words: 1620 - Pages: 7
...| How is Digital Piracy Hurting Modern Society? | | | Introduction Digital Piracy is a huge crime that is large hurting the entertainment business here in the United States and in other countries, but the question I ask myself is how digital piracy hurting modern society? What actions are our governments taking to stop people from downloading illegal music, movies, and software? How much of a profit loss is effecting the companies that are producing this digital material? If someone knows what the punishment is for downloading music, movies, and software would they still do it. This research will aim to understand what is digtal piracy is and why it is that people download illegal software, movies, and music. Literature review In the article Examine Digital Piracy: Self-Control, Punishment, and Self-Efficacy, the authors introduce what digital piracy is and how it changes on a constant basis. They show how the “United States government has been cooperating in the fight against digital piracy with the software, music and movie industries with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA)” (Zhang, Smith, McDowell, 2009). They discuss how most people think that digital piracy is acceptable, it a soft crime and it does not hurt anyone, and most think that this information should be exchanged freely. The authors also did an online-survey study on college students who were taking Management Information Sciences (MIS) course at a public university in the southern United...
Words: 1689 - Pages: 7
...Innovative Models for Doing Business in the Music Industry Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Reasons for Changes in Consumer Thinking 2 2.1 New Technology Changes the Way Consumers Experience Media 3 2.2 Development of P2P File Sharing 3 2.2.1 Generation 1: Napster 3 2.2.2 Generation 2: The Pirate Bay 4 3 Company Attitudes Towards Changing Business Climate 5 3.1 The Industry Reaction on File Sharing 5 3.2 Technologial Countermeasures 6 3.3 Taking Chances with the New Climate 7 4 Analysis of Different Business Models and Market Conditions 9 4.1 A New Business Model – A Good Business Model? 10 4.1.1 Streaming Media Services 11 4.1.1.1 Spotify 12 4.1.2 Single-song Download Services – Online Music Stores 13 4.1.3 Music Rental Services 14 4.2 Study Case: Tip-Jar - The Radiohead Business Model 15 4.3 Study Case: CD-giveaway - The Prince Business Model 16 5 Conclusions 18 References 19 Introduction The emergence of new media, digital technology, and changing consumer expectations has given the music industry the challenging task of scrutinizing their own business models and methods, forcing companies to revise their business structure and adopt new sources of revenue for the twenty-first century. The main goal of this study was to find out the trends which have affected the industry past years and shaped it towards the present state, reveal how the current climate is, and point out some possible future success factors and new models of...
Words: 7711 - Pages: 31
...and create massive revenue losses for our media companies here in the United States. Considering how large scale the digital piracy industry is today, it is important for us to first understand the background and history of global piracy. The problem of piracy on copyrighted material is extreamly large and continues to grow in big numbers even today. This digital piracy causes big problems to the software, videogame, music and movie industries. Digital piracy is basically the production and purchase of counterfeit material at a discounted rate. This digital piracy is constantly flowing between our internet networks from one person to another. Digital piracy goes all the way back to the 1990’s when the computers came into the picture and when the internet was made available to the public use. Traditional media piracy was basically the copying of discs or floppy’s that were sold in retail stores all over the world. In the beginning, the media companies as well as the Chinese government did not pay much attention to digital piracy, which made it easier for these digital pirates to create these illegal copies and spread it in large numbers. From this point on, piracy grew at a tremendous rate in the Chinese culture. In the later part of the 90’s when computers and all the other digital products began to play a big role in the daily life of people as well as businesses, traditional piracy continued to grow. As a result the number of piracy retailers also grew and a lot...
Words: 2845 - Pages: 12
...Music Copyright & File- Sharing Technology A copyright is a form Intellectual property that grants an author or originator of any tangible literary or artistic work exclusive rights. It is granted by federal statute and includes any literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural and architectural works. Also, any motion pictures, sound recording and other audiovisual work. The first U.S. copyright law was the Copyright Act of 1790. It was then modified in 1909 and again 1976. Copyrights still being administrated by the Copyright Act of 1976, which states that the term of protection starts from that date created to the life of the author plus fifty years. The terms automatically got extended for any work created after January 1, 1978, giving statutory copyright protection for the life of the author plus seventy years. In the case of more than one author, it is seventy years after the death of the last living author. A copyright is automatic once the work is made, however it can also be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. A copyright infringement is when the expression of the idea or the work form has been copied without the copyright owner’s approval. It is not limited to the entirety of the work, but if a considerable amount of the original is copied, it is copyright infringement. Only the copyright owner has the right to reproduce, distribute copies, display, or perform the work. Individuals, who commit a copyright...
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
