“The Piracy Ship Has
Sailed”
Many of us know all about the piracy epidemic that occurred
in the early 2000’s. Millions of people
were downloading music, movies, and anything else they could get their hands on
illegally due to the creation of various programs that were specifically
designed for this purpose. Such programs
are Limewire and Napster which are all no longer still in use, but at the time,
they were some of the most popular software programs available. With digital piracy becoming so common, these
industries that had their material being pirated had to come up with ways to
put out the fire, which brings us to the applications we use today.
YouTube, Netflix, and iTunes are three of the biggest names
when it comes to streaming movies, TV-shows, and music. Believe it or not, we have digital piracy to
thank for the development of such applications.
Streaming is the most practical and successful solution to the piracy
epidemic because it allows users to get the entertainment they are looking for,
but not without a cost. Some
applications like Netflix require a monthly fee and give users access to a
limited amount of movies, which do not include new releases or movies in
theatres. ITunes, for example, allows
you to a buy any song you want for only 1 dollar, or you can buy the entire
album for a discounted price. This
solution works well and has not eliminated the issue of piracy but most
certainly has limited it.
Now we must look into the future. What is going to be the next development in
the removal of digital piracy? Will there be a return of epidemic that happened
in the early 2000’s? Although it is hard to tell at this point in time we can
draw some conclusions based on the history of the issue and the most recent developments.
Obviously, you can’t beat a free product.
The only way to compete however is to develop something that is convenient,
dependable, and also valuable. Those
attributes are able to sway users from the uncomfortable feeling that comes
from downloading illegally. Many other
people think that it is going to take further punishment in order for people to
fully realize the seriousness of this crime. In hopes that one day, we will
view digital piracy the same way we view other crimes of theft, like robbing a
bank.
In summary, technology has moved mountains in its efforts to
put an end to digital piracy, but there is still room for growth. Further innovation must be made as well as an
evaluation of our own personal moral code.
We must realize that someone is losing money every time we pirate
material and there are other, legal, ways that these items can be
obtained. At the speed of the
advancements in technology today, businesses will continue to provide and improve
on ways for us to get what we need, the right way.
Written By: Christian Prather
I think that apps like Pandora or Spotify have also played a role in curbing digital piracy. It gives individuals access to free music, and all they have to do is listen to an ad every once in a while. While ads can be annoying, it is a small price to pay. People will be less likely to turn to pirated music if they have a suitable alternative.
ReplyDeleteeven then, there are some people who pay for pandora or other apps to listen to music without ads.
DeleteLaruen, I recently took an online Berkeley course on the Music Industry which has an interview with a record exec that said he believed the next golden age of the RECORDING industry was just around the corner. The reason is because of ubiquitous wifi. The idea is that once wifi access is essentially everywhere and always on then subscription services, and free but monetized services are marginally less expensive then going to trouble to pirating music.
ReplyDeleteAs Lauren mentioned about the other apps for free music, I feel as if society has become sort of "spoiled" in getting music for free. When other sites allow everyone to get free music all the time, why would someone then go PAY for music if they don't have to? I didn't think about that concept but it is true that other free music (or any other media) being readily available has contributed to the pirate acts.
ReplyDeleteI remember in class it was said that you can pirate something such as a game on your phone and not even know it. With knowing this I am sortof curious to know how technology is used to stop this?
ReplyDeletei like spotify.
ReplyDeletespotify is becoming the new pandora for most people i know
DeleteI remember the Limewire days. I can't lie and say that I have never pirated music, movies, games, you name it. It doesn't matter what efforts technology takes to limit piracy, people will find ways to bypass and get what they want.
ReplyDeleteexactly and i feel like anytime and anyone who tries to stop it will not succeed cause if they could, it would be done by now.
DeleteLittle pirates within us want free stuff! Most of the comments to this blog try to convince how bad the piracy is and elaborate on the ways to stop it. But the question is: do we really want it too stop? I think piracy became such a big part of our lives that it can't be extirpated completely.
DeleteI agree. Ive been there done that too. We know we do it, but we don't care because it is better than having to pay. We all try to get out of paying for anything we can
DeleteWhy is violating copyright and selling boot leg goods known as piracy? RRRRRR nobody is walking the plank or taking ships.
ReplyDeleteI hope this blog post helps you understand it better: http://copyrightsandcampaigns.blogspot.com/2009/04/piracy-as-copyright-infringement.html
DeleteOne of the main arguments I've heard for pirating music is that only a small fraction of the sale amount ever makes it to the artist, so people didn't feel like they were stealing from an artist they really liked, just the mega production company already rolling in dough. One really good way (I think) artists have responded to the whole piracy epidemic is through sites like Noisetrade where people can download music for free, but are asked to "leave a tip" or share on social media to promote the artist. The albums are usually free for a limited time, so there's a period of promotion and spreading their work for free, and then profit from it later. It also provides a closer connection between the artist and listener and builds a more loyal fan base who are more likely to pay money for future releases and buy concert tickets. This would mostly apply to lesser known artists, of course, but I still think it's a solid plan.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting topic because almost everybody has pirated information. Whether it be information or music, do you think better security will solve this problem?
ReplyDeleteUnless there are serious restrictions put on for using the internet, personally no I don't think that better security will solve the problem of digital piracy but it might help. What could also help the situation would be if companies provided a better service or even lower prices on music/movies/whatever digital service compared to the pirated services available.
ReplyDelete