Is file sharing, or the illegal reproduction or consumption of copyrighted items, wrong? This question has been a topic of discussion since the first mp3 file was uploaded to the internet. A study done by Columbia University shows 46% of American’s partake in the piracy of music. However, statistics also reveal that those who pirate the most music are also the industry’s top consumers. While file sharing usually gets a bad reputation, it can hold advantages to both the artists and the music industry.
Pirating music grants new or budding artists exposure that they would never find on the radio. File sharing has also been shown to boost record sales. Evidence of this is shown by the fact that Radiohead’s “Kid A” album, an album composed of heavily electronic and jazz sounds, made it to number one on the charts following its release in October of 2000. The album had been leaked on Napster three months prior to its release date and ended up gaining publicity through Napster. Many artists such as Madonna now chose to give fans to stream their albums before their official release date. File sharing is also great for archiving music that may be out of print or otherwise inaccessible. Piracy also grants people the ability to listen to a wide range of music not found on iTunes, which only houses 1% of the entire music catalogue available in the world.
According to a recent statistic from Cambridge University, the average teenager has up to $800 of pirated music on his or her iPod. Record and movie companies claim that piracy hurts the economy and the amount of money they make. This, however, can be disproved by looking at the amount of money that popular movies and music make today. For example, “The Avengers” movie broke the record for the highest amount of money made on an opening weekend. While many say that piracy hurts the economy, there is much evidence for the contrary.
The disappearance of F.M. radio also plays a role in the pirating of music. In the past, radio was a valid alternative to purchasing music, now radio plays mostly commercials and when it does play songs, it plays pop songs. A study on radio suggests that most F.M. radio stations play the same songs in different rotations throughout their air time. Especially with the decline in radio stations and radio listening there are no longer many places to listen to music free for charge.
The other thing that drives piracy to record highs is the industry itself. In the 1960s, 1970s, even the 1980s music was art. Music wasn’t an industry, and artists weren’t censored by labels. Under the big four labels, which are Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI Group, music has become a means of profit and no longer art. These companies are all run by older white men. These men have absolutely no interest in music; all they care about is the money they can make from it. Under these men, few artists sing about important issues. There is no more political outrage or satire. What are left are songs about how much an artist loves her boyfriend. To me, that is the great tragedy of the music industry. So when people go out and pirate music just to get away from the mainstream sludge, I understand their motive. I am not trying to say that piracy is in any way not stealing. I am only trying to argue that the industry has not given music lovers many alternatives.