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RSS FeedHigh fines for illegally sharing 24 songs: Does the punishment fit the crime?
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| Yes | 22% | 40 votes | Total: 180 votes | |
| No | 78% | 140 votes |
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Add to FavoritesWith today's modern technology, it's all so easy to want to snag a few songs here and there... maybe even a couple of movies. I mean, somebody went out of their way to put them on there. Who is it hurting, really?
Everytime this subject comes up around me, I notice that particular bands come up. I hear names tossed about like Metallica, Led Zepplin and whatnot. The argument is simply thrown my way by simple sayings like, "Those people are rich as hell! They don't need any more money! It's not gonna hurt them if I take a few of their songs." By looking at the mountain instead of all the little nooks and crannies on the side of the hill, you don't realize that those "big studios" that produced these bands are simply businesses just like anything else. They have over-head just like Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
So let's consider this strange comparison; shall we?
What happens to the prices of any random item on the shelf of Target if someone comes by at different intervals and decides that... "Well, that [desired item] is certainly something I would like, but I don't have the money right now." Instead of acting like any other human being with a decent set of morals, they figure that it won't hurt anyone to just snag it off the shelf. Besides, it's small. It's not hurting anyone. It's not going to be missed. Right?
Well, time passes and surprisingly, this same thought processes goes through a few other minds. What a bunch of crooks shop at Target! But it's OK. Target is a big company that pays their employees badly! If anything, these little thefts are a "get-back at the man" for those poor suckers at the cash register. Then something odd starts to happen...
Eventually you walk into Target and suddenly this [desired item] is priced at a cost that it's really not worth. Matter of fact, so are a few other items. Why the hell would I pay "X" dollars for that [piece of rubbish]? Sadly, even some items that I do need are a little over-priced. Damn it! That's how much milk is!?! Outrageous! How could they do this? What is the meaning behind this?
Well, my fine thieving friends, it's the beautiful thing about supply and demand. These markets make things available because we want them and when unfortunate events happen, these markets need to find ways to bring their cost back up. In other words, they need to raise the prices of other items in order to pay for the loss that our "needy" friends couldn't live without. Overall, every other honest paying individual just bought that [essential junk] that others couldn't save their money for.
How does this relate to our wonderful music industry? Well, it's simple. Has anyone noticed the cost of CDs lately? Aren't they a bit higher now? They aren't being made any differently than they were 10 years ago. Matter of fact, they could even be made faster and cheaper now! These price jumps are partly due to the markets that sell them. We also have a different marketplace now. We have one that's easily accessible and instant. We have a market that will streamline our music from one part of the world all the way to our part and that's beautiful. When we want something as simple as entertainment, so simple as a great song for our little ears to plush through the wonderful graces of some singer/songwriter, we can have it by simply clicking a few buttons. No more should we cower in the corner waiting for the clerk to look the other way while we pocket our booty! But, what's this? There's more to the aftermath?
We're no longer just taking from Target or Wal-Mart or Best Buy. We're stealing from our Ma and Pop Shops. We're taking from the small timers that literally are just trying to make ends meet. Small bands are our Ma and Pop Shops. Small bands that are trying their best to create something new, something great, something that will bring out actual hits... Why aren't these labels signing these bands!?!
It's simple. An industrial view of it is this: How they compensate for their overhead is by spewing out band look-a-likes. Who's the next Nickelback? Nickelback did something right; right? How about another Creed? But... not Creed. Has there been a band that has come out recently that's completely "wowed" us into a new revolutionary scene? Or are we just getting a clotted mass of radio garble that's "safe" and "assuring" for profit margins? Where are our big labels that are willing to risk their necks for the next true-new thing? Something edgy that leaves us standing there with our jaws slack and our eyes gazing into new possibilities?
Instea d of looking at the bands that have already made it, have already massed together their dollar bills and banked them away, let's look at those that are still trying to make a living off of it. Let's try not to allow the music industry beat them to a pulp before we really had a good look at them. Besides, it's not just the big bands/groups that are getting illegally downloaded and shared.
No matter how you steal it... it's still stealing. It's not bread for your hungry children after all. Give due respect to those that have worked hard on these songs. You wouldn't want to work for free would you?
By the way, I have never worked for Target.
Learn more about this author, Syd Thompson.
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No
It's already been established that sharing copyrighted content is illegal. No reasonable person is going to dispute that, even if they feel that there are ethical or moral reasons for breaking the law. But fining someone over $200,000.00 for sharing a few songs? It seems that the government has allowed the music industry to spiral out of control. Not only is such a fine punitive in the extreme in comparison to the crime committed but it hurts far more people than just the filesharer in the long run.
Let's take a look at what such punitive fines might actually do:
1. Garner bad publicity and hatred from music fans, many who share files and many who don't. Over time, this may hurt sales far more than filesharing ever has. Ill will is hard to turn into a profit.
2. Make it harder for big label artists to sell their music. After all, angry people may decide to examine why they should support artists who are supported by labels that engage in these kinds of tactics.
3. Encourage and spur on professional pirates who won't stop filesharing no matter what anyone tries to do about it. This kind of tactic is simply a clarion call to the more egregious filesharers (those that share up to thousands or tens of thousands of files) to up the ante on piracy.
4. Bankrupt the filesharer. Now some might say, well, so what? They were caught stealing so they weren't going to pay any way. This is true of some but but not all. Not all filesharers are troglodytes that sit in their parents' basements, downloading files just because they are too cheap to pay. Many filesharers are also music buyers - people who buy lots of music, supporting the very industry that now sees them as a threat! Many share files to preview tracks or albums, buying them later. Or they may simply prefer not to purchase content infected with DRM. If such a person has been hit with a $200,000.00 fine the industry has lost a customer.
5. Lose potential artists or bands who may see this as over kill. Not all artists are against these tactics but many are. This creates such negative morale and feelings that it may end the industry in the long run. Who wants to deal with an entity that punishes people for such a small crime? People who've done far worse don't get treated this way.
Fining someone $1000.00 or even $2000.00 dollars for illegal filesharing, garnishing wages if necessary is one thing. After all, the law is the law. But fines such as what was stated at the outset are beyond the pale. Fining someone hundreds of thousands of dollars for sharing a few songs on their hard drive has nothing to do with justice. It's not about supporting artists who have lost earnings from filesharers, it's about intimidation and making an example out of someone who is powerless to fight back. It's about protecting profits - profits I might add, that have been gotten by dishonest methods by the industry itself. It's funny how the same industry that has robbed musicians since time immemorial and continues to rob them, protects what it believes is its profits so ferociously from other thieves and pirates. But then, like the old childhood saying goes: it takes one to know one.
Learn more about this author, Victoria Jeffrey.
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