The Morality of Downloading Music
Ever since Napster first came on the scene in the late 1990s, downloading music and movies over the internet has been an extremely controversial issue. People all over the world delighted in the fact that you could get your favorite songs with the click of a mouse from the comfort of your own home. However, for almost as long as file-sharing programs have been around, there have been those who try to stop them. Record companies, many recording artists, and the movie industry plead with, and try to force the public to stop this “piracy.” The number of lawsuits has been going up in recent years and the targets have become average people who download a few things here and there. However, the issue is not as black and white as it seems. Many people believe, with good reason, that downloading isn’t the horrible criminal offense that the recording and movie industries make it out to be. Sometimes, downloading actually helps music sales by generating an interest in a certain band or style of music. The recording industry is filled with artists who have the kind of money most people can only dream about, and yet they ask for more. The most important point is that this is the direction technology has taken us in and now that it’s . . .
” It’s nice to have the real CD, but the music is what the consumer is paying for and better sound quality (which is suspect because most downloads are of fine quality), art work, and insert information aren’t worth $15 or $20. " This demonstrates the sentiment displayed by many people today, musicians or not, who feel that digital music is the wave of the future and trying to stop it is pointless. It’s not only the public who disagrees with the record companies, but many of their own artists have problems with what they are doing. As much as they may have tried, no one has ever been able to stop innovation. People have been upset with high prices of CDs and the music industry in general for years. Instead they go after the casual downloader who is making no major dent in the sales of these companies’ products. File-sharing is the future of music and record companies can either keep fighting it in vain, or accept that it’s here and find a way to use it to their advantage. The record industry seems to want to make an example and scare everyone by going after average Joes. According to some people, downloading today reflects peoples’ ethics. Another part of the bill calls for to stop the sale of copy-protected CDs without labeling them as such because some customers have had trouble playing these CDs on their computers. In many cases, a person will download a song or two because they have the means to, and then if they like it, they will go out and buy the CD. “Plus, music lovers have been unable to convert these music files to MP3s, a legal action,” said Brownback. File-sharing is finally a way for the public to have some power and hopefully in the future, record companies will realize that they will have to work with it to create a better music industry. What type of ethics does this demonstrate? The industry hopes the suits, which seek as much as $150,000 per violation, will deter computer users from engaging in what the record industry considers illegal file-swapping. You can’t see them coming; there’s no warning shot across your bow.
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