Digital Media and MP3s online: Good or Bad?
I say good...and bad.
Do you think Music Sharing Pirating or File Sharing is Wrong?
Sharing music. It is something we all do. As a West Indian, there is no more obvious time for this to happen that the Carnival season. Every year, listeners, myself included, anxiously await the Soca tunes they will jump up to the following February. As it gets closer to the season, you get word of a tune and you head to one of the well-known websites for Soca music Toronto-Lime.com or Trini Jungle Juice to get it. You are able to hear the song but can't download it or buy it in the states. You have to wait until you to get home to buy the CD- the CD sold by the pirates.
Yes, I said pirate.
But you don't see him that way. He is a nice guy and you buy from him every year. Plus he always has the hottest mixes. You land on the island and head straight to, no not the record store, downtown Port of Spain where you can find the pirater who you buy music from. You get downtown you spin around a couple of times and then he notices YOU. You exchange pleasantries, while he gets your CDŐs ready because he knows other hot tunes and wants to make sure you get the deal, you know, 3 for $25.00.
In TT dollars, that is hard buy to pass up. You get your CDŐs you make your way home and load them onto your computer and then onto your MP3 player. Then people start to stop by and realize you have the latest tunes. You, as a friend, do the next best thing; you make them a copy of the cd you just bought .
While you are enjoying yourself in the 90 degree weather, you are oblivious to the fact that you have just committed a crime. Albeit in another country but a crime nonetheless. No doubt something you have done regularly in the past with your music. Very few are truly aware of how serious sharing files has become or more importantly how much trouble they would be in if found and prosecuted.
It is an issue in Trinidad and Tobago, in the UK and here in the United States where file-sharing has reached an all time high.
It has become the 11th commandment. Individuals, artists, bloggers, lawyers-those for and against file-sharing- all have had a lot to say and the issue seems to create deeper problems as you realize both sides are benefitting, so what is the real issue.
For those of us old enough to remember, all this started when the website, Napster , was brought to the attention of radio execs. Through legal cases, Napster was finally forced to cease sharing files. Though that didnŐt stop others from creating Napster clones. In addition to those trying to emulate Napster without getting caught, people began to do it but in closer proximities.
But if it is so illegal, why is everyone involved benefiting from the process.
You do not have to be an academic scholar to weigh in on the issue of music sharing. Those who participate in file sharing, or have been accused of it, believe they are only helping the artists.
Soca music, a genre heard mainly in the West Indies, has been suffering from file-sharing or as it is locally referred to, music pirating for years. Some of the artists from the island of Trinidad and Tobago, like Machel Montano has expressed concern though has publicly stated that he believes it is good to get the music out to the people.
Bloggers at decooler, a west Indian looked at the issue in a question answer format and focused on the top issues associated with file sharing including giving the artist and their music exposure, distribution of music to other islands and the U.S. and UK. Read the entire blog post here
Can this issue be eradicated. The people at the Recording Industry Association of America hope so.
In 2003, the RIAA began prosecuting Americans who file-shared. In that group, a child whose parents actually felt the brunt of this and a grandfather. See the link for the article, here
The government began asking US universities help with file sharing by developing a plan to deter file sharing. According to the article this plan originally came under fire because the government tied it into the risk of loss funding, something most state universities know a lot about. Read the post from CNET news here .
But again, it is beneficial to the artists, music sales are up. ShouldnŐt the record companies be grateful for this? Maybe maybe not. But it pays to understand what you are getting yourself into if you share music.
To help individuals understand the law associated with file sharing, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill created this website . It details everything from how you can become liable for the charges to what punishment you may face. The site has not been updated since 2005. National Public Radio is trying to do their part too. They are being called 'game-changers' for their new tool created to allow their content to be available in many different ways. NPR's API was released this summer, it allows users access to over 13 years of material created by NPR. See the entire article here .
So what will stop you from pirating? That the question posed by BBC news earlier last month. They believe education is the key. Read more of their solution on the BBC news website here .
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Materials used for this article are for academic purposes only. No form of it may be reproduced, without permission from original owners: Napster, CNET News, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Recording Industry Association of America, NPR, Machel Montano, Trini Jungle Juice and Toronto-Lime.com. Please do not link to any portion of this without permission.