Compromising Ethics for Free Music

Peer to Peer file sharing programs can be accessed by anyone on the Internet and make it easy for anyone to gain access to their favorite music without having to pay for it. Instead of going to the record store and purchasing music, an increasing amount of people find it to be more convenient to simply get online and download the song for free. Doing this is considered to be stealing from the artist who created the music. Anti-piracy laws make downloading music illegal, and if caught, pirating music is punishable with heavy fines.
Piracy is defined by Dictionary.com as "The unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, or trademarked product." Downloading music over the Internet without permission obviously falls into this category. In June, 1999, a college student named Shawn Fanning, (as cited on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster) created a program called Napster, which made it possible for users to upload music files and share with other users. Eventually, he was sued and the court ordered the site to be shut down, but because of Napster, more peer to peer software was created by others, thus beginning a worldwide trend of individuals illegally downloading music online for free instead of paying for it.

Because of this, those who work in the music industry have suffered income losses as they are unable to sell their music in stores. In an article titled "Online Music Sharing is Wrong",(as cited on http://www.lirn.net) the author, James D. Torr, feels that downloading music online is no different than shoplifting music from a store, and should be punished as such. He states that pirating music is not only illegal and wrong, but it also compromises the livelihood of everyone involved in the music industry because it drastically reduces money made from record sales. Also, musicians suffer due to the amount of commitment they have dedicated toward producing their music, only to have it pirated online. There are a couple of reasons why people pirate music even though it is both illegal and immoral. The main reason is that people generally will not pay for something that they can get for free if possible.

File sharing programs make it easy to anonymously download hundreds of songs in a matter of seconds, without having to pay any money. It is also more convenient to download music, rather than drive to a crowded store, search for the CD that they want, and stand in line to pay for it. Since it is easy and free to do, most people feel that it is worth it to compromise their principals in this situation.Another reason that people do this is because even though it is illegal and punishable by law, the chance of actually getting caught is slim due to the millions of users who are sharing files. Also, it is easy to maintain anonymity when dealing with peer to peer sharing sites. Because of this, people feel that they can get something for nothing and not get caught, and they take advantage of the situation.

If it were easier to get caught illegally downloading music, then less people would do it.Also, the prices of CDs in stores are expensive, and most of the time, the artist only produces a few songs from the CD that the listener is interested in. In the past, artists produced singles, which were less expensive and contained one or two songs, so that listeners could purchase only the song that they desired, without paying for the full CD. Today, this has become obsolete.

People don't want to pay full price for a CD that contains only a few desirable songs on it. By downloading the music online, people are able to retrieve only the songs that they like, rather than being forced to listen to undesirable content.File sharing web sites also make it possible to review the songs on a CD before making the decision to own it. CDs are unreturnable, so if someone purchases a CD from a store and they are not happy with the quality, they are stuck with it. Most people do not mind supporting their favorite artist by purchasing their music, but if the song that they want is unavailable or too expensive, they will opt to downloading it for free. With the high price of CDs, and also with a lot of music not being available in stores, people are unwilling to take that risk if they don't have to, so downloading it for free becomes an enticing option.Another reason is that some people don't feel that downloading music is actually stealing.

With so many people doing it, it actually softens the blow of it seeming like stealing. People feel that since everyone is doing it, it must not be that bad. Also, some people even feel that file sharing sites actually help the music industry, rather than hurt them. In an article titled "The Problem of Internet Piracy is Exaggerated" written by Orson Scott Card,(as cited on http://www.lirn.net) he claims that file sharing causes wider target groups to be reached, and newer artists get more recognition this way. Some artists may never be heard if it weren't for their music being previewed and downloaded online.Some artists, such as Gnarles Barkley, (as cited in Vibe magazine, June, 2009) actually allow some of their content to be viewed and downloaded online because they know that by doing this; their music will reach a larger audience. This practice is called "leaking" and has become standard for a lot of musicians.

In fact, a lot of record labels have been known to leak songs on the internet in an effort to spread the news of a musician's upcoming projects.By leaking music that is not yet available in stores or on CD, it is believed to help listeners anticipate the release of an upcoming album.People feel that downloading music is not hurting the income of the music industry because they are still profiting from other methods such as concert ticket sales retail merchandise, and royalties. It is known that record sales only represent a small percentage of an artist's income. In conclusion, people are generally good natured and are willing to support their favorite artist, but they are simply unaware of the consequences of music piracy, and the effect that is has on the artist of the music that they are stealing. They feel that they are not doing much harm by downloading a song for free.
If more people understood the hard work involved in creating a CD and how pirating the CD of an artist that they love is actually hurting their career instead of supporting it, then they may think twice about stealing it.In order to put an end to music piracy, people need a reason to stop doing it. File sharing needs to become more risky and less convenient to the user, and artists need to make their content more desirable when purchased as opposed to downloading, so that people will be inclined to obtain the music in a legal manner.

If the music industry took steps to make music more desirable in stores, such as by lowering CD prices, bringing back CD singles, making rare tracks more available in stores, or offering special incentives when they purchase music, then people will be more inclined to purchase music instead of stealing.

Perhaps making music more difficult to obtain illegally, such as viruses or corruptions being placed in files, also known as "fakeware", or by lowering the sound quality of leaked music, will force listeners to go out and buy the content instead of downloading it for free online. Less people would pirate music if they feared their computer was at risk, or if they felt that they were sacrificing quality of content in doing so. The idea is that people download music illegally because they are able to get any song they want, even versions not sold in stores, easily and for free. As long as music continues to be conveniently pirated online with only a slim chance of violators being caught and penalized, and as long as retail prices of music continue to rise, a decline in this practice is highly unlikely.