The authorities and industries are no longer sitting idle as digital piracy becomes rampant, and are starting to hit back at those who download copyrighted content illegally. In the UK, the music industry has won a landmark court case against illegal online music sharing. The claimant, BPI, believe that internet music-swapping has led to a decline in sales since 1999.
But some circumstances of the music industry's lawsuits has drawn criticisms. This news article reports on how the lawsuit against a 66-year-old grandmother who was accused of piracy was withdrawn after the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) admitted it may have been a case of mistaken identity.
The UK government is also considering introducing laws that would force internet service providers to disconnect the accounts of pirates (Gray 2008). Numerous file sharing and peer-to-peer (p2p) software tools like Kazaa and Limewire popped up to replace Napster, which was ordered shut down by the US court after a successful lawsuit by the US music industry. New generation p2p software like BitTorrent uses websites that act as indexes for the software, allowing access users to share files and without the legal vulnerability of their predecessors.
With online music sharing becoming a norm, music and recording companies have been hit hard. Gray (2008) says the industry's 2007 sales declined by 35% compared to sales in 2003.
But not all artists are concerned with making a profit as they are concerned about their art. Rap band, Bluejuice, are one of many bands who support the use of p2p software to share music. British band Coldplay, not only gave away a free download of their latest single, but also plan to perform at two concerts for free.
There are other examples of a harmonious system between industries and consumers as well.
Nokia will soon be offering unlimited music downloads on a mobile phone under its Comes With Music brand. This is a deal made between Nokia and the music industry's Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI and Warner Music.
Napster, once the leader in peer-to-peer sharing programs is now an online service that has around 410,000 subscribers who pay a fee each month for access to a database of songs. This way, the recording industries are able to receive a sum of money for their works and the users are able to enjoy music conveniently and more importantly, legally.
References:
Court rules against song-swappers, 2008, BBC News, viewed 7 November 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4653662.stm
Grandmother piracy lawsuit dropped, 2003, BBC News, viewed 7 November 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3140160.stm
Sabbagh D 2008, Nokia offers unlimited music for one-off fee, The Australian, viewed 7 November 2008 http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24440421-15306,00.html
Water, D 2005, Napster boss on life after piracy, BBC News, viewed 7 November 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4165868.stm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment