Louise
Gill


Louise Gill – S2702856

Info Tech Arts – 1712QCM

WORD COUNT: 910

 
 2
 
 Louise
Gill


Abstract:


The
act
of
piracy
is
looked
upon
as
the
downside
to
the
music
industry.

Committing


piracy
 is
 illegal,
 however,
 many
 musicians,
 especially
 emerging
 artists,
 and


consumers
have
questioned
this,
when
programs
like
P2P
have
been
proven
to
help


artists
in
their
career.

It
has
been
proven
in
this
article,
through
research
and
studies


of
 multiple
 surveys,
 that
 the
 majority
 of
 musicians
 believed
 P2P
 programs
 have


enhanced
their
careers.

Some
musicians
also
believe
that
with
the
right
tactic,
P2P


systems
can
be
even
more
supportive
to
the
industry.


History
tells
us
that
breaking
into
the
music
industry
is
challenging
for
any
individual.



Over
the
past
10
years,
emerging
musicians
have
had
technology
to
help
them
with


this
task.

Musicians
wanting
large
audiences
would
put
up
samples
of
their
music,


encouraging
people
to
buy
it.

However,
people
had
found
loopholes
and
were
able


to
permanently
download
the
music.

Many
people
believe
this
is
a
criminal
act,
and


are
trying
to
put
a
stop
to
music
piracy.




It
 has
 been
 proven
 that
 there
 are
 various
 benefits
 concerning
 the
 file
 sharing
 and


P2P1
system.

Especially
for
emerging
artists,
it
allows
for
their
music
to
reach
a
large


audience,
quickly,
and
for
musicians
who
are
already
signed,
it
can
increase
their
fan


base.



Music
piracy
can
come
in
many
forms:
“Individuals
who
illegally
upload
or
download



























































1
Peer
to
Peer

 
 3
 
 Louise
Gill


music
online,
online
companies
who
build
businesses
based
on
theft
and
encourage


users
to
break
the
law,
or
criminals
manufacturing
mass
numbers
of
counterfeit
CDs


for
sale
on
street
corners,
in
flea
markets
or
at
retail
stores.”


(file:///Users/Louise/Documents/2010/info%20tech/RIAA%20‐

%20Piracy:%20Online%20and%20On%20The%20Street%20‐

%20April%2028,%202010.webarchive)


File
 sharing
 is
 a
 form
 of
 theft,
 and
 it
 is
 widely
 believed
 that
 this
 has
 hindered
 the


music
industry,
making
it
harder
for
musicians
to
get
signed
and
putting
them
out
of


work.
 “Record
 labels
 routinely
 drop
 artists
 who
 sell
 less
 than
 200,000
 copies
 of
 a


CD”(Coyle,
J.,
Gould,
S.,
Gupta,
P.,
&
Gupta,
R.
(2009)).
However,
if
file
sharing
was


somehow
 prevented,
 and
 CD
 sales
 increased,
 record
 companies
 would
 demand
 an


even
higher
profit
from
sales.




P2P
users
are
usually
concerned
for
emerging
artists,
and
will
consciously
support


the
success
of
their
career.

As
listeners
become
more
familiar
with
an
artists’


music,
they
are
able
to
make
informed
decisions
about
future
purchases.



Multiple
surveys
have
been
conducted
all
over
the
world,
proving
that
music


piracy
is
not
always
as
unsuccessful
as
it
appears.

In
2005
in
the
United


Kingdom,
conducted
a
survey
that
600
UK
music
fans
participated
in.

The


survey,
reported
in
the
Guardian
Online,
(July
27,
2005)
proves:
“Those
who

 
 4
 
 Louise
Gill


illegally
share
tracks
over
the
Internet
also
spend
four
and
a
half
times
as


much
on
digital
music
as
those
who
do
not
(Yolevski,
K.,
(2004)).


In
 March
 and
 April
 of
 2004,
 a
 survey
 was
 conducted
 where
 2755
 musicians
 and


songwriters
participated:



60%
of
people
surveyed
say
they
don’t
think
the
 2RIAA’s
suits
against
online


music
swappers
will
benefit
musicians
and
songwriters.

Those
who
earn
the


majority
 of
 their
 income
 from
 music
 are
 more
 inclined
 than
 ’starving


musicians’
to
back
the
RIAA,
but
even
those
very
committed
musicians
don’t


believe
the
RIAA
campaign
will
help
them.




42%
of
those
who
earn
most
of
their
income
from
their
music
do
not
think


the
RIAA
legal
efforts
will
help
them.


83%
 said
 that
 they
 have
 provided
 free
 samples
 of
 their
 work
 online,
 and


significant
 numbers
 said
 free
 downloading
 has
 helped
 them
 sell
 CDs
 and


increase
the
crowds
at
concerts.
(http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1349)


This
 evidence
 has
 proven
 that
 many
 artists
 support
 file
 sharing
 as
 a
 form
 of


marketing.

It
is
especially
effective
for
emerging
artists
reaching
a
wider
audience.




Musicians
 and
 consumers
 have
 been
 impacted
 by
 P2P
 programs,
 which
 have
 been


spread
worldwide.





























































2
Recording
Industry
Association
of
America

 
 5
 
 Louise
Gill


Research
 out
 of
 Japan
 by
 a
 Keio
 University
 Economics
 Professor
 concluded


that
 "Winny",
 the
 most
 popular
 P2P
 application
 in
 Japan,
 has
 had
 no
 effect


on
CD
sales
in
Japan.
In
fact,
the
study
found
that
P2P
allows
consumers
to


discover
new
music
and
so
promotes
music
sales
(Yolevski,
K.,
2004,
sect.
8,


para.
6).


Artists
 and
 consumers
 feel
 that
 the
 recording
 industries
 tactics
 for
 preventing
 file


sharing
are
too
extreme
and
misguided.
Rather
than
fighting
against
P2P
programs,
a


solution
can
be
met
by
working
alongside
each
other,
benefitting
artists,
consumers


and
recording
companies.

Artists
have
offered
several
solutions;
the
following
is
one


put
forward
by
Moby
from
System
of
Down:


File‐sharing
 services
 like
 fans
 instead
 of
 criminals.
 "How
 can
 a
 14‐year‐old


who
 has
 an
 allowance
 of
 $5
 a
 week
 feel
 bad
 about
 downloading
 music


produced
 by
 multimillionaire
 musicians
 and
 greedy
 record
 companies,"
 he


wrote.
 "The
 record
 companies
 should
 approach
 that
 14‐year‐old
 and
 say:


`Hey,
 it's
 great
 that
 you
 love
 music.
 Instead
 of
 downloading
 music
 for
 free,


why
don't
you
try
this
very
inexpensive
service
that
will
enable
you
to
listen


to
 a
 lot
 of
 music
 and
 also
 have
 access
 to
 unreleased
 tracks
 and
 ticket


discounts
and
free
merchandise?'"
(Strauss,
M.,
2003,
para.
7).


It
 has
 been
 proven
 that
 preventing
 P2P
 programs
 is
 almost
 impossible.
 
 Robbie


Williams
states,
“There
is
nothing
anyone
can
do
about
it”
(Farrell,
N,
2003,
para.
5).




 
 6
 
 Louise
Gill


Ultimately,
 music
 piracy
 in
 a
 P2P
 format
 benefits
 emerging
 musicians,
 acting
 as
 a


promotional
tool
and
by
reaching
a
larger
fan
base.

P2P
programs
help
consumers


make
educated
decisions
about
buying
music
and
therefore
making
them
more
likely


to
make
a
purchase.

Surveys
have
proven
that
musicians
are
contempt
to
put
free


samples
 of
 their
 music
 online,
 helping
 to
 enlarge
 crowds
 at
 performances,
 and
 sell


more
music
and
merchandise.

If
record
companies
were
to
try
and
work
with
P2P


programs,
rather
than
against,
a
solution
to
the
issue
could
be
found.



 
 7
 
 Louise
Gill


Reference
List





(2004).
International
Index
to
Music
Periodicals:
File
sharing
splits
musicians.

Retrieved
from

file:///Users/Louise/Documents/2010/info%20tech/Full%20Text%20‐
%20International%20Index%20to%20Music%20Periodicals.webarchive



(2004).
Peer
to
Peer
networks.
Retrieved
from

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1349



Coyle,
J.,
Gould,
S.,
Gupta,
P.,
&
Gupta,
R.
(2009).
“To
buy
or
to
pirate”:
the
matrix
of


music
 
 consumers’
 acquisition‐mode
 decision‐making.
 Journal
 of
 Business

Research,
62,
1031‐1034.





Farrell,
N,
(2003).
Robbie
Williams
Backs
Pirates.
Retrieved
April
26,
2010,

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/News/1138117



RIAA:
Piracy
online
and
on
the
street.
Retrieved
April
20,
2010,
from


 file:///Users/Louise/Documents/2010/info%20tech/RIAA%20‐
%20Piracy:%20Online%20and%20On%20The%20Street%20‐
%20April%2028,%202010.webarchive





Strauss,
M.,
(2003).
The
New
York
Times:
File‐sharing
battle
leaves
musicians
caught

in
the
middle.
Retrieved
April
26,
2010,
from


 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/technology/14MUSI.html?ex=13788720
00&en=2832300e467debbe&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND



Yolevski,
K.,
(2004)
Canadian
Internet
Policy
and
Public
Interest
Clinic:
File
sharing

Retrieved
April
22,
2010
from

http://www.cippic.ca/index.php?page=file‐sharing/#faq_how‐widespread