2008 Woodie Awards
Music pirating becoming more frequent among students
Point-Counterpoint
Henry Kaufmann
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Music pirating is out of control
In today's thriving online community some people might say that downloading music is a regular activity. Of course we all remember drummer Lars Ulrich, from the band Metallica, speaking out against illegal downloads in the infamous Napster fiasco. That was just the beginning.
The hundreds of people sued by giant music companies can all tell you the same story - the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is taking drastic measures to defend the ownership of music.
So what's with all the illegal downloading and file sharing? Most people agree that it doesn't seem like a crime but when someone is constantly downloading entire CDs without paying a dime then both the artist and the record company suffer a big hit.
Burning CDs, sharing music with friends and downloading music has unveiled a whole new level of music pirating that has quickly grown with technology. One option that has become widely acceptable is to sign up for iTunes which charges for the licensing costs of each song.
Some argue that downloading music illegally forces musicians to play more live shows to make up for the slumping sales. The big questions are: What is it going to take for people to stop? and Are record companies and musicians going to have to make more public appearances?
I think stealing copyrighted material is wrong. Musicians and recording companies will have to move along with technology to secure their business until people stop illegally downloading.
In today's thriving online community some people might say that downloading music is a regular activity. Of course we all remember drummer Lars Ulrich, from the band Metallica, speaking out against illegal downloads in the infamous Napster fiasco. That was just the beginning.
The hundreds of people sued by giant music companies can all tell you the same story - the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is taking drastic measures to defend the ownership of music.
So what's with all the illegal downloading and file sharing? Most people agree that it doesn't seem like a crime but when someone is constantly downloading entire CDs without paying a dime then both the artist and the record company suffer a big hit.
Burning CDs, sharing music with friends and downloading music has unveiled a whole new level of music pirating that has quickly grown with technology. One option that has become widely acceptable is to sign up for iTunes which charges for the licensing costs of each song.
Some argue that downloading music illegally forces musicians to play more live shows to make up for the slumping sales. The big questions are: What is it going to take for people to stop? and Are record companies and musicians going to have to make more public appearances?
I think stealing copyrighted material is wrong. Musicians and recording companies will have to move along with technology to secure their business until people stop illegally downloading.
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