Today’s music industry is extremely competitive. Many fear that the introduction of digital music and piracy are killing the industry (Jobs, 2007). I don't believe this to be entirely true. There are many positive outcomes as a result of music piracy and peer to peer programs.
Peer to peer (P2P) programs such as Kazaa and Bearshare have become a growing concern for music companies as these technologies enable people to copy and distribute music easily without permission from record companies, producers, etc. There is much emphasis put on the digitization of music that many forget that there are other forms of piracy going on where performers sing copyrighted songs without permission whilst profiting from the performance.
There have been many concerns about the fast growth of technology and that it may be ruining the music business on a financial scale. However financial statistics show that the music business is booming. Record sales may have decreased however they are being replaced by online purchase of digital music. “To this day, the record companies continue to collect royalties from consumers who purchase the album, perform the song, or quote its lyrics” (Abramson 2005, 2). The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (2007) states that there has been “a significant shift in consumer preference towards obtaining singles in digital formats…and although the value of the wholesale market for physical products declined during the year, that decline was significantly offset by the growing digital market.” The music industry is also gaining from the profitable and increasingly popular mobile phone market.
These P2P programs don't damage the music industry and don't decrease sales. In many cases they leads to legal purchases of music and music products from both in-store and over the internet (for example Bigpond and iTunes online). Many people choose to download music rather than through purchasing in-store. Online purchases are made mainly because of availability, convenience and price. P2P (peer to peer) music exchange is the preferred option of the customer as music is simply a click away (Piracy, 2007). Free and flexible music sharing within “fair use” guidelines is essential to a healthy music culture. “If we were to have to deal with the music oligarchs directly, the experience would be so toxic that 100 percent of the world would turn into Kazaa downloaders in 30 days” (Doctorow 2005). Napster, a program which allowed users to download music illegally, actually improved album sales. Instead of only pirating music, many people felt motivated to go and legally purchase the album (Abramson 2005, 29).
One major issue consumer’s face is the Digital Rights Management system. A large proportion of the recording industry has not been happy with the usage limits imposed on users and wish to diminish the flexibility with which individuals can use digital music (Baruh 2006, 67). However I believe that tightening the Digital Rights Management is certainly not a suitable solution to piracy. If music sharing becomes too difficult, consumers will be forced onto illegal channels where there are no restrictions on music downloads.
P2P programs such as Kazaa, Bearshare and Limewire are certainly not a major cause for concern in the music industry. The sale of music is still on the rise in digital form despite the decrease in single sales. Downloading music on the internet has also led to the legal purchase of albums both in store and online. I believe these programs are essential for a healthy music culture and the music business.
References:
Abramson, Bruce. 2005. The Computer Ate My Industry in Abramson, Bruce, Digital pheonix, Massachusetts: MIT Press, pp.203-240.
Baruh, L. 2006. Music of my own?: the transformation from usage rights to usage privileges in digital media. In Digital media : transformations in human communication, ed. P. Messaris and L. Humphreys, 67-78. New York: Peter Lang Press.
Doctorow, C. 2005. Sony's EULA (End-User License Agreement)is worse than their rootkit. Boing Boing: 1 page. http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/09/sonys_eula_is_worse_.
html (accessed 18 April, 2008).
Jobs, S. 2007. Thoughts on music. http://www.apple.com/hotnews/
thoughtsonmusic/ (accessed 18 April 2008).
Piracy, KCB102. 2007. Queensland University of Technology, Online Learning and Teaching Web site: http://ltfiledown.qut.edu.au/
download.asp?rNum=3684969&pNum=4138&fac=CI&OLT
WebSiteID=KCB102&dir=sec&CFID=32063&CFTOKEN=
53200348 (accessed 18 April 2008).
The International Federation of the Phongraphic Industry. 2007. What is piracy? http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_views/
what_is_piracy.html (accessed 18 April 2008).
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2 comments:
Thanks for your post Rachel (and comment on my post). You've raised some really valid points about piracy and music sharing.
You've just motivated me to write another blog entry on piracy. Check out my blog if you're interested. I think I'll title it "More on Music Piracy".
I've always been of the view that open and free online music sharing is beneficial to both consumers and artists. I'm a long time user of p2p programs, which allows me to expand my music knowledge and discover new bands, and old ones.
I've often felt frustrated, as the views I most commonly hear in the media are anti-piracy anti-p2p anti-sharing tirade sermons, so it's been a relief to be able to read blogs such as yours that talk about the positives of this controversial topic.
I recently read an article on the success of Last.fm, the online social music community that connects artists with listeners, and people with new music by recommending and providing free music samples online. It is currently the fastest growing free online music network in the US (PR Newswire, 2008), due to the site’s licensing partnership with the ‘Big 4’ (Universal, EMI, Warner Music Group and Sony BMG) and more than 150 000 independent artists and labels.
Unsigned artists can also sign up and receive royalties every time their music is streamed.
I believe this is a turning point in the life of online music to, as you say, a more healthy balanced culture.
Another big change is that relating to DRM technologies, and the ideological and practical changes being made by the major record companies towards them. I’ve written a blog on this theme, if you’re interested in having a read. Feel free to leave a comment!
Reference:
PR Newswire. 2008. Newly Released Third-Party Metrics Validate Last.fm is the Fastest-Growing Free Online Music Network in the U.S. http://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1445650151&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=14394&RQT=309&VName=PQD (Accessed 14 May, 2008).
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