Friday, October 7, 2011

A Pirate's Life for Me

Is it stealing if you acquire something for free because it is the only possible way to acquire it? I would answer affirmatively if the “something” were a tangible physical good. For instance, if one were to take a priceless piece of art that is not for sale to anyone would constitute stealing. However, when it comes to property that is digital, like movies and music such acquisition may not be considered theft.

With the advent of digital music stores like Amazon, Rhapsody, and most notably, iTunes music can purchased instantly. However, access to content is restricted by country and subject to record label control. So even though listeners have a seemingly infinite selection of music from which to download, the availability of content for purchase is not guaranteed. For instance, American users are authorized to preview the UK iTunes store but cannot purchase anything from the store. In a global entertainment economy, most popular music tends to cross borders rather quickly and achievement of global ubiquity of more artists and songs has become increasingly easier. So that brings us back to the question of whether downloading a song for free when it isn’t available for purchase should be considered piracy. The issue also extends beyond downloading content that is confined to a particular country, for instance an artist who has not entered and has no intentions of entering the U.S. entertainment market.

What if we are referring to content created by an artist whose record label has not released content for consumer purchase. Is downloading this content illegal? As iTunes proliferated, the music industry was forced to adapt to a changing environment. The measurement of artists’ success has altered as individual songs from albums became available for purchase. As a result, album sales declined and record labels were faced with solving this dilemma. An initial solution to the drop in album sales was to take advantage of the availability of album track downloads as a means to increase single sales. But, to maximize buzz and sales figures, many record labels released popular artists’ songs to radio but waited extended periods of time before making the single available for purchase. As a result, consumers rushed to purchase songs at the height of popularity. An example of such strategy is Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” which achieved ubiquity in 2006. (May we PLEASE never hear it again). Shakira’s record label held back the release of the song so as to augment album sales. A consequence of such strategy: it became the best selling single of the 2000s.

Eventually, this strategy was largely abandoned by record labels that adopted the strategy of releasing songs almost immediately so as to prevent illegal downloading by providing content as soon as released to television and radio. Such policies can help prevent illegal downloading by pandering to consumers’ impatience.

But, are we pirates if we take what we are not offered to purchase?

2 comments:

  1. This is an interesting issue. Probably you're familiar with Radiohead, and how they released their last two albums (sort of) for free.

    The story didn't end there. On one occasion, the record companies have gone after sites that were distributing Radioheads music, which is odd (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/aug/04/bloggers-ordered-remove-radiohead-material).

    But also related to your post on the issue of downloading, there's some that feel "just listening" isnt' the same as trying to resell. A platinum-SELLING indie artist had this to say, ""If someone is reselling the music that's one thing, but if they are just listening we can't punish them for that." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/12/radiohead-wades-into-youtube-revenues-debate)

    The line is definitely blurring. I mean Pandora is free, and you can listen to unlimited music, that's not categorized as stealing, but downloading is...I don't really see much difference though. Or better yet, consider the new Spotify service--unlimited listening to music of your choice for an unlimited number of times--for the first 6 months. Still, that's still very close to downloading.

    Regards,

    William

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  2. This is a really interesting question. I remember downloading music that hadn't been released for sale yet when I was in high school. (I downloaded most of my music illegally then, until my computer got a virus and crashed.) I think that it is piracy if you are downloading something that will eventually be available for your purchase, but with the UK example you mentioned, I think that is more of a gray area. It would be interesting to know if any companies have tried to come after people for downloading music only available in other countries.

    I use iTunes and Spotify now, since I am afraid of downloads from the time my computer crashed, and I think that software and websites like Spotify and Pandora could change how prevalent piracy is. More people may decide to use these instead of taking the risk, especially since you can use them on your smart phone with a unlimited data plan.

    Thanks for the great post.

    Christina Howerton

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