Music Downloading

The concept of illegally reproducing music is not new. However, with the proliferation of advanced digital technologies available through the internet, it has become a major issue to those in the music industry. The arrival of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks toward the end of the 20th century has led to issues surrounding copyright violation and intellectual property. Despite the presence of legitimate websites that protect copyright on the music they provide, it is not likely membership numbers will drop in P2P services. To combat the exploitation of music, a balance must be defined that both protects artists and provide for the desires of the consumer.

In order to understand the concept of music sharing through the internet, one has to recognise that there have long been concerns that music has been misused by the public. Those that find means to produce and distribute music for free encourage the commonly held notion of getting the maximum amount for the minimum cost. Among the first instances of home dealing dates back to the cassette. It was argued at the time that by recording songs off the radio to create ‘mixed tapes’, legitimate sales were adversely affected. The CD saw the beginning of music being digitally reproduced. Since the 1990s ‘burning’ [copying] music onto CDs has been popular; so much so, that the number-one selling CD in the United States in 2004 was “blank and recordable” (Kusek & Leonhard 2005: x). This evolution of ‘sharing’ music has led to the current phenomenon of sharing via the internet.

The end of the 1990s saw the introduction of file sharing services over the internet. Although sharing music files is not the only use of file sharing, this is the primary to many users. Among the first of these file sharing networks were Napster and Gnutella. Other networks include LimeWire, BearShare and KaZaA. Users access files on other connected hard-drives either through a central server (Napster-like) or directly through a peer-to-peer (P2P) network (Gnutella-like) (Brain 2008).

With the freedom that Napster, KaZaA and LimeWire provide to their users, it is often forgotten that it file-sharing is illegal. “The open environment of the internet and the culture that surrounds it is inconsistent with the idea that stealing is a tangible thing” (Murugiah 2006: 54). The copying of files unprotected by copyright laws diminishes the value of the intellectual property. Napster was the first to be brought to court for breaches of copyright infringement. It was found by a US federal District Court that the “swapping of files was not fair use [of music content]” (Casey 2004: 59). However, litigation against KaZaA-like providers is difficult as there is no central sever from which downloading/uploading occurs from and therefore no one person/persons are responsible (Reed 2004:100). Also, due to the rising member numbers of these networks, the music industry has felt the need to sue not only the service providers but individuals who have mass downloaded (Lehrer 2003). This process is already in use in the United States and it is has not been ruled out in other Western countries including Britain and Australia as the crackdown against P2P continues.

Despite the dominance of P2P, there are plenty of sites that offer legal music downloading. Pro-Music.org is an online organisation that encourages and directs users to legal sites from which provide music either streamed or downloadable. Sites listed in Australian include: iTunes, BigPond Music, NineMSN Music, and MP3.com.au (Pro-Music 2008). These sites operate on the pay-per-song system that offers users music at a cost less than a CD. However, encouraging the public to use these sites is difficult when compared to the ease of access and free cost of P2P file sharing.

One issue of debate is the impact that file sharing music will have on aspiring artists. According to the Australian Recording Industry Association (2005) “the biggest losers from internet file sharing are the upcoming artists because not paying for music means much less money to invest in them.” While this may be true, there are many new artists who self-promote by bypass the major record labels deliberately as a way of getting their material heard. On MySpace “there are more than 1.2 million rock acts and 1.7 million R&B acts alone clamouring for attention” (IFPI 2008: 13). The numbers for these two genres would be an indicator that digital music has had a massive impact to new acts and how they are discovered.

Currently, the two mainstream systems of downloading music are very much extremes. The system of copyright on which legal providers operate is somewhat restrictive when compared to the ‘free-for-all’ public domain of P2P. Creative Commons (cc), an online corporation, offer a balance between these two extremes with their “some rights reserved” copyright protection (cc). Creative Commons assert that “we work to offer creators a best-of-both-worlds way to protect their works while encouraging certain uses of them...” (cc). “Certain uses” allow the public to download, re-mix, re-create and re-post original material. This system of copyright is yet to be adopted by recording companies and many mainstream artists. A similar solution to providing legitimate music downloads is through issuing of voluntary collective licences similar to that of broadcast radio. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has openly supported this concept “that gets artists paid while making file sharing legal” (EFF 2008).

In theory, downloading music from the internet can be seen as ethical provided that the works are covered by some form of copyright. By making music available on the internet, the music industry is simply keeping up with technological advances. It would appear that no other industry has evolved with the influence of technology more than that of the music industry. The difficulty surrounding music downloading is encouraging consumers to use legal sites. However, this remains difficult due to competition with free P2P file sharing networks. An adoption of the values of Creative Commons in the mainstream will provide a balance between the artist’s rights and the public’s desire for free music. Until that becomes a norm, P2P networks will continue to be used so long as resources remain available.

References

ARIA - Australian Recording Industry Association Ltd, 2005, Internet File Sharing – Separating Myth from Reality, [Online] Accessed on 22 May, 2008 from < http://www.aria.com.au/pages/InternetFileSharing-TheMythsExplained.htm>

Brain, Marshall, 2008, How Guntella Works, [Online] Accessed 2 May 2008 from <http://comptuer.howstuffworks.com/file-sharing.html>

Casey, Eoghan, 2004, Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Compters and the Internet, Elsever Academic Press, London

Creative Commons, About, [Online] Accessed on 2 May 2008 from http://creativecommons.org/about/

Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2008, Voluntary Collective Licensing, [Online] Accessed 2 May 2008 from < http://www.eff.org/wp/better-way-forward-voluntary-collective-licensing-music-file-sharing>

IFPI, 2008, IFPI Digital Music Report 2008: Revolution Innovation Responsibility, Accessed on 2 May 2008 through <>

Lehrer, Jim, 2003, Downloading Music, [Online] Accessed on 2 May 2008 from <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec03/music_9-09.html>

Kusek, David & Leonhard, Gerd, 2005, The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution, Breklee Press, Boston

Murugiah, Seravanen, 2006, The Debate of Music Downloading, unpublished B.A. (Masters) dissertation, Griffith University

Pro-Music, 2008, Australasia Online Music Stores, [Online] Accessed 30 April, 2008 from

Reed, Chris, 2004, Internet Law: Text and Materials, (Second Edition), University Press, Cambridge, pp 96-10

my essay topic

Hello

Ok so I probably should've put it up here a couple of weeks ago but I've been so swamped with other assignments. I don't like uni assignments. But I have another due at the end of this week for this subject. Don't worry, you'll be able to read the entire thing on here post 5pm this Friday.

But just to let you know what you'll be getting yourself into here is a brief overview of my topic: downloading music, Is it ethical?

Basically I'm saying that as a concept downloading is ok when it is paid for (i.e. iTunes or Bigpond). Then you have all your filesharing and peer-2-peer systems (like Limewire) that are illegal. Yes I am aware that everyone does it and I have to admit that I am do as well. So I am debating the legitimacy of music downloading by briefly looking at the forerunners, the authenticity of downloaded music, the controversial impact it has had on the industry and the advent of the filesharer.

Well that's all from me. It's not even 12 by the clock in the corner of the screen. Oh time is so slow when you don't want it to be. Good luck with your assignments and exams.

Till next time :)