OPINION & EDITORIAL
Making musicians walk the plank
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- Hate crime debate needed on campus (January 20, 2006)
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by Mac VerStandig
Thursday, October 2, 2003
When a teenager walks into the local Wal-mart, “discretely” slips the latest Eminem album into his or her backpack and attempts to walk out the door, few contest that a slap on the wrist is in order. But what about the college student who uses a crowbar to break into Sam Goody, strolls over to the “Rap” aisle and steals enough records to rival Guinness? Most reasonable individuals would agree that, at the very least, restitution is in order.
So why, then, do so many people have trouble grasping the criminal repercussions of Kazaa, Morpheus, Lime Wire and the assorted other crowbars of Generation X?
Several arguments have been made in meager attempts to justify the black market that is online file-sharing, but a sensible look at each reveals their collective logic to be no stronger than the Dixie Chicks’ patriotism.
It has been asserted that MP3-sharing is actually a means of positive promotion for musical artists. Putting aside the fundamental notion that artists should be able to exercise control over which channels are used to promote their work, this theory is simply untrue.
In 1999, the last year before the piracy epidemic fully hit, the Recording Industry Association of America reported industry revenues of $14.6 billion. In 2002, that number had declined to $12.6 billion, a drop of 14 percent or $2 billion. To put that figure in context, $2 billion is equal to Afghanistan’s gross domestic product for the entire year of 1999 (a GDP that includes more poppy seeds than a Sara Lee bagel).
Should this economically devastating trend continue, musical artists will have no financial interest in continuing to produce albums.
Some claim that listening to music on one’s computer or MP3 player is no different than listening to it on the radio. Again, this is simply untrue. Contrary to urban legend, radio stations do pay for the right to play music to the public.
Every year broadcasters have to cut a check to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which, in turn, compensates its member artists with royalties (how else would Sinead O’Conner continue to earn an income?). It is also worth noting, however, that radio programming is not controlled exclusively by any one listener and, therefore, is not an on-demand medium tantamount to Winamp, iTunes or any other MP3 players.
One tragic explanation sometimes offered is that given the sheer pervasiveness of piracy, people blindly enter the market of online music and do not notice the black atmosphere. Ignorance, however, has never been an excuse for illegality, and such lemming theories only serve to reflect poorly on Generation X.
Another argument being advanced is that music sharing is some sort of exercise of free speech and, therefore, protected by the First Amendment. But the truth is that music is a form of intellectual property, belonging to those who create it. Just as it would be unjust for another newspaper to reprint this column without the permission — and compensation — of this columnist (not that Jayson Blair wouldn’t try), it is unjust for online file-sharers to copy music without the permission — and compensation — of artists. Surely music aficionados can hold themselves to a higher standard than The New York Times.
The music industry has now created a system that allows for that compensation of artists but also recognizes the MP3 as following in the steps of the CD, cassette tape, vinyl disc and 8-track. Several Internet services now legally sell MP3 files to consumers. And, perhaps best of all, they are shockingly affordable. Apple’s iTunes Music Store charges only 99 cents per track and assures the sort of quality that you won’t find on McDonald’s similarly priced menu.
This seems to be the essential compromise between Generation X’s pirates and the music industry. Those on a college student’s budget no longer need to pay for an entire album just to get a couple of good tracks that weren’t released as singles. At the same time, those tracks aren’t being stolen from the artists who worked hard to produce them.
Further, the music industry has bent over backwards in an attempt to rehabilitate file-traders, offering blanket civil amnesty to anyone who comes forward, admits to his or her former pirating ways and vows to exit the black market.
With all of this in mind, it is exceedingly difficult to see why the ACLU and other apparent proponents of lawlessness are fighting so hard to keep the music industry from achieving legal justice against those who continue to steal products at the expense of the American economy.
The RIAA has started filing civil suits against music pirates across America, ranging from a John Doe Boston College student to a 12-year-old adolescent. This is a wise move on the part of the trade group, as it serves as both a means of restitution (albeit far from the $2 billion it should receive) and, more importantly, a deterrent. But it is a sad statement that the citizens of Generation X do not appear to sufficiently care about the difference between right and wrong — commerce and theft — to have their consciences serve as that deterrent.
Hopefully the realization that no one — not even a 12-year-old or an ACLU-backed college student — is above the law will compel MP3 enthusiasts to put down their crowbars, remove their eye patches and return an entire Middle Eastern economy.
Mac VerStandig (Mac@Badgerherald.com) is a sophomore majoring in rhetoric. He currently owes Apple $2.08 for some Jeff Lorber songs.
