There were several stories released in the last few days and over the last few weeks about large companies cracking down on Internet Piracy. As an artist myself, I am a firm believer in the legal purchase and use of copyrighted material. However, I can't help to remember the days before Internet when it was cheaper to buy five blank cassettes and record my music off the radio than it was to purchase the artist's tape at the local record store. (Cassettes were what they used before CD's.)
My problem with piracy is two-fold. For this example, I will stick solely with the music industry. The music industry allows you to get music either by purchasing an entire CD at a store or by downloading the individual songs at a per song price (at approved vendor sites). My first concern is that, except for a very small number of artists, musicians are horrible these days. As everyone tries to achieve their 15 minutes of fame, mediocre singers are publishing albums that have only one song worth listening to and costing ten to twenty dollars per CD. If on the other hand, I need to buy a single song, I can purchase the one song I like for $.99 to $1.99. But is a song that I may listen to a couple times a week worth two bucks?
With several sites, I can download the song, listen to it a couple of times, and determine if I like the musician enough to invest in the entire CD. With all of the restrictions and attempts to enforce this as a copyright violation, I am finding it harder and harder to find sites that I can sample songs. "Why don't you listen to it on the radio?" You may ask. The answer is simple. I don't have a radio at work-I am at work all day long-and I don't live in a community that has the music I enjoy playing on the radio.
Also, I don't feel a lot of sympathy for the record industry. If they didn't feel it necessary to charge twenty dollars for a Frisbee with music on it (how many of us really listen to the CD anymore? We burn it right to our MP3 player) then they wouldn't have everyone trying to get free songs on the Internet. Ok, that isn't exactly true. Everyone wants something for nothing. Lower prices would make people like me who are willing to buy a CD at a lower price pay for a CD of worthless songs to get the one I like.