Napster can’t be to blame. After all, how did Sean Fanning know what he was getting into when he attached his moniker to a slick little piece of software? Filesharing has been the topic du jour since this millennium started, and there’s no end in sight –- but it arguably has changed the way music does business.
It’s undeniable that sharing music is copyright infringement. But to what extent? Is it necessary to crack down on someone who copies a cassette tape? The RIAA and MPAA have developed into a draconian force, with your Walkman and home theatre as their police-state. But the tactic is reactive, not proactive. While tangible media sales plummet, the industry is left watching the digital-profits boat leave the port.
The truth is, the underground network that has always been underground – back to the days of vinyl and 8-tracks – was sued into the limelight, clueless with its headphones still on and wondering why everyone’s staring. Technology isn’t to blame here, nor are piracy rings. They’ll always be there - that’s why filesharers continue to jump between different means of exchanging data.
The fact of the matter is, despite the vast proliferation of the Internet and the World Wide Web, the application of these technologies remains largely untapped by media companies. The music business has been riding the Compact Disc ticket for as long as I’ve been alive. Arguments against changing medium-for-profit aside, isn’t it time to get with the program? In the days of i2, Skype, Blackberry, Bluetooth, and the iconic iPod, profits aren’t records on the rack - they’re bytes in the air.
Look out, traditional media: music, film, television, book publishing, etc. - you must set your sights to the cutting edge to reap the awards of a changing society. Besides, isn’t it hypocrisy to sue people for keeping intellectual property, well, intellectual?
Ivan Pereira @ Mon, 02/06/2006 - 11:34pm
I think this comes back to the car analogy I made last class. The music and film companies should let this form of medium continue and use it to their advantage. With the case of music, file sharing has already made it into the mainstream of the industry with i-tunes and other legal downloading software. Movies will certainly be next especially with lower budget independent films. In the end both sides will win. We'll have a better way to listen to music and watch movies, though I personally enjoy going to a theater or watching a dvd on my large screen tv, and they'll have their beloved profits.