Digital Piracy In Music: Legal, Social and Ethical Issues

Entertainment today is mainly provided by digital media. Purchasing music off of places like Amazon, Spotify, and ITunes are some the ways of gaining this entertainment legally. Using sites such as YouTube and Netflix gives you an option to choose movies of many different genres, but computer technology advancements and Peer-to-Peer file sharing have put a yield to the true profit that the artists should receive. One can say that production companies and record labels are making a lot of money in today’s society; but with unauthorized peer-to-peer systems illegally downloading music and movies, there is a dramatic change in the potential profit of these industries. Tony Roda, a writer for the Copyright and New Media Law Newsletter explains in his article Combatting Piracy, the problems that the media based industries face daily. He insists that the RIAA or “the Recording Industry Association of America in 2003 stated that more than 2.6 billion files of music were illegally downloaded every month on unauthorized peer-to-peer (P2P) systems (Roda, 2003).” The potential profit of music and media industries has decreased because of these peer-to-peer systems. Digital piracy has not been completely defeated because of the different ways to download such material, but recording and digital industries have taken some legal action to control these issues.

Background

Digital piracy is the illegal downloading or transfer of music, software, and movies. Due to the increase in digital piracy, there has been a decrease in music, software, and movie sales. “… revenues due to digital piracy could reach $5 billion alone from music and book publishers by the year 2005 (not counting losses from software companies or cinema studios) (Al-Rafee, Conan, 2005),” is stressed by Sulaiman Al-Rafee, an assistant professor of information Systems at the department of Quantitative Methods and Information Systems at the College of Business Administration, Kuwait University; and a Chair in Information Systems at the University of Arkansas named Timothy Paul Cronan. In their article Digital Piracy: Factors that Influence Attitude toward Behavior, they basically discuss how the lack of media purchase and the evolution in peer-to-peer file sharing has resulted in the loss of massive amounts of profit. Movie production teams, video production teams, recording labels, and software developers are the people who checks are being cut due to this file sharing. In an article by a reporter, Adam L. Penenberg, Digital Rights Mismanagement, informs readers about how companies like Apple; have digital rights management, which makes it more difficult for digital piracy to occur. They use this scheme called fairplay, which allows you to load a song on up to five computers and an unlimited number of iPhones and iPods; but you can’t distribute it over the web (Penenberg, Adam, 2005). In iTunes on your computer, iPod, or iPhone; the songs are unlocked with a random encryption key that is supplied by Apple. This keeps a person from emailing a song to a friend and it only allows you to play music on the hardware provided (iTunes, iPods, iPhones). Groups such as Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group, have begun filing lawsuits against illegal consuming individual websites that allow file sharing (Bonner, O’Higgins, 2009). Sad to accept, but these lawsuits aren’t actually affective because music and move sales are steady decreasing, while illegal downloading steady increases.

Potential Benefits

Most people would opinionate that digital piracy is all wrong, but some believe that bootlegging has its positive effects also. Mark T. Bender and Yongsheng Wang’s journal in the International Social Science Review, discuss the overlooked benefits that are available through file sharing. They inform that, “…file sharing networks should make the music market more efficient. Consumers can learn about new artists while sampling digital media and subsequently purchase the recording of the artists…there are certain parameters in the purchasing of music that exist in which the sampling effect does occur and profits increase when consumers can make informed decisions due to sampling even though they could obtain the material for free (Bender and Wang, 2009).” They agree that there are some positives to file sharing and p2p systems. Still the vast loss in profit is the larger problem that is faced in this particular situation. The same idea is recapped with Steven Bonner and Eleanor O’Higgins, writers of a journal called Music Piracy-Ethical Perspectives, discussed some reasons to why illegal downloading plays a vital part in students, through research and surveys. In the survey the students debated that “…the positives of illegal downloading outweigh the negatives, in that an artist’s music gets heard, “out there” or “known”, which is a core goal for any musician, if monetary gain is taken out of the equation.” Moreover, local artists are more likely to reap these benefits or positives than global superstars (Bonner, O’Higgins 2009).” Basically the students informed them that their reasoning to downloading is to hear different artists. If an upcoming artist needs to get his music distributed and listened to, the artist will put their music on these websites where people can download their music for free. The ability to access and download music quickly and for free confirms that the music will be distributed globally. This can result in a wider audience and fan base for an artist; which could eventually earn profit. The only bad part about it is that, the people who are already famous, who don’t want their music downloaded for free; their music is also available to be downloaded for free on these websites.

Legal issues

Recording industries and retailers often struggle a lot to protect their products from digital pirating. As a result, these industries have taken legal steps to getting justice, from people who download/consume illegal files through peer-to-peer system sharing. One of the major ways to get justice for illegal consumption of music, movies, and software is to file lawsuits. For example Brian Garrity, author of The world of digital music: The piracy ware wages on the new emerging strategies, states how “the major labels and their retail and technology partners are fighting back, pursuing a myriad of judicial, legislative, technological and commercial strategies designed to get the average consumer to stop taking free music from the web (Garrity, 2002). This article elaborates on the many methods and procedures used by industries to protect their product. However, Alain d’Astous, Francois Colbert, and Daniel Montpetit reenacts Garrity’s statement about legislative measures taken by top industries by stating that “In the US., for instance, over 500 people were sued for illegally distributing music over the Internet (Bridis, 2004). Clearly, the message of this legal campaign was that pirating music on the Web can lead someone into trouble with the U.S. judicial system (d’Astous, Colbert, Montpetit, 2005).” Obviously, legal measures have put a small yield to excessive digital piracy, but it isn’t humanly possible to target every individual who participates in illegal downloading of such files. Because of the many flaws in the journey to extinct digital piracy, industries/companies must take as many legislative measures as possible. That way, maybe, these industries and companies can still make profit; even if there aren’t many people who are actually caught pirating.

Social and Ethical Issues

As digital piracy continues to develop, so does the research to put a stop to piracy. Researchers who study more of social problems of digital piracy believe that society is not going to feel bad about illegally downloading content, due to the fact that they are not physically harming the artists or the actor. Bonner and O’Higgins argue the issue that “There are lots of questions to why people participate in digital piracy. When elaborating on why people download illegal content, Bonner and O’Higgins argue that “Identifying a singular victim leads people into believing that the single life affected actually represents an inconsistent percentage of the total threat. Therefore, by accentuating exactly which artists are most targeted, regarding their loss of income due to illegal downloading, some guilt may be induced on the illegal downloader, particularly if they are an avid fan of the particular artist/musician under consideration (Bonner,O’Higgins, 2009).” Basically, if an artist shows to his fans/supporters that he is being affected by digital piracy, then people are still going to continue to download music illegally.

The questions and issues that pertain to illegal downloading may be of importance in understanding the true ethical stance of individuals in the twenty-first century, especially insights about their purchasing behavior. Does the Internet cloud people’s perception of what is wrong and what is right, where cyberspace alienates one’s true existence in reality (Bonner, O’Higgins, 2009)?” Therefore Bonner and O’Higgins believe that we as potential internet users have been sort of brainwashed into having no remorse towards digital piracy. We are disconnected from the artist and the record label that the artist is signed to, because we don’t have to live their lives. In a sense, we don’t have to do anything but simply click on the download button on one of the many websites provided to obtain illegal songs, movies, and software. In d’Astous, Colbert, and Monetpetit’s article they conclude “…That some moral reflection takes place before engaging in software piracy; the higher the perceived risk and the more ethically questionable the behaviour, the lower the probability that it will occur (d’Astous, Colbert, Montpetit, 2005).” A lot of people don’t have a guilty conscious for illegal downloading, but after interpreting this message; I feel as if they meant that if a person doesn’t feel bad about downloading illegal content, he or she will most likely keep downloading this illegal content.

Security Concerns

Reflecting back to Brian Garrity’s ariticle, The world of digital music: The piracy ware wages on with new emerging strategies he discusses a few different tactics developed by industries to protect their files from being illegally reproduced. The technology theater in which labels are working with a host of companies to create secure music formats-with everything from DRM-wrapped digital files and streams, to copy-protected CDs, to next-generation products like Data-Play, DVDAudio and SAM (Garrity, 2002). In many cases these tactics have been helpful with the “battle” against digital piracy, but still these methods don’t necessarily provide a full protection against piracy. Also another concern of these music and movie industries is the fear that eventually sales will crash, leaving retail sales to be ceased. This means that digital piracy could cause these industries to lose out in record and film sales, leaving them to find other ways of profit.

Furthered Required Research

Some universities have been attempting to fight digital piracy by keeping track with what students download, while connected to the internet. Many students have been caught and held accountable for illegal downloading media files. “Earlier this year over 200 Penn State University students lost dormitory access to the Internet after they were found to have illegally downloaded copyright protected material. However, with OSU’s introduction of campus police and the possibility of criminal charges being filed against the students, copyright enforcement efforts are likely to receive a great deal more scrutiny. Civil liberties groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation of San Francisco, are growing concerned (Roda, 2003).” Author of Combatting Pircay, Tony Roda, explains what universities like Penn State University, have done to try and stop digital piracy. Also he explains how other universities such as Ohio State University, seized computers in four dorm rooms; which were used to run a lot of file sharing networks. “In early May 2003, OSU police seized computers in four dormitory rooms. The computers, which were the personal property of the students, were being used to run [Not Transcribed] massive file-sharing network. This is the most aggressive step yet by the educational community to [Not Transcribed] down on the piracy of copyright protected works by students (Roda, 2003).” This means that Universities are now beginning to take digital piracy more seriously, as well as the companies and industries being financially affected by pirating.

Conclusion

Digital piracy will never be completely not-existing. Due to internet advancements and hackers there will be continuous ways to alter downloading music, software, and movie files illegally. Because of social and ethical opinions, one can now understand why as potential internet users, we don’t feel any remorse to illegally downloading such files. The media is basically, put in front of our faces every time we use a computer, therefore people are going to download content, and not think twice about it. Recording industries, companies, and businesses are constantly losing profit due to digital piracy. Now that this is such a huge issue in today’s society, companies have rigged their software and hardware to make it less accessible to illegally download their files. However, there will never be a way to completely assure that digital piracy will be non-existing. Therefore digital piracy will continue to be exercised. Unless consequences become more serious, digital piracy will continue for generations to come.

References

1. Garrity, B. (2002). The world of digital music: The piracy war wages on with new emerging strategies. Billboard, 114(28), 71-72+. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/227149846?accountid=14541
2. Bonner, S., & Eleanor O’Higgins. (2010). Music piracy: Ethical perspectives. Management Decision, 48(9), 1341-1354. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00251741011082099
3. d’Astous, A., François Colbert, & Montpetit, D. (2005). Music piracy on the web – how effective are anti-piracy arguments? evidence from the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Consumer Policy, 28(3), 289-310. doi: 10.1007/s10603-005-8489-5
4. Mark, T. B., & Wang, Y. (2009). The impact of digital piracy on music sales: A cross-country analysis. International Social Science Review, 84(3), 157-170. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/227347530?accountid=14541; http://sfx.wrlc.org/gm??url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Apqrl&atitle=THE+IMPACT+OF+DIGITAL+PIRACY+ON+MUSIC+SALES%3A+A+CROSS-COUNTRY+ANALYSIS&title=International+Social+Science+Review&issn=02782308&date=2009-07-01&volume=84&issue=3%2F4&spage=157&au=Bender%2C+Mark+T%3BWang%2C+Yongsheng&isbn=&jtitle=International+Social+Science+Review&btitle=
5. Sulaiman Al-Rafee, & Timothy, P. C. (2006). Digital piracy: Factors that influence attitude toward behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 63(3), 237-237. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-1902-9