The Piracy Generation - Essay Example

The Piracy Generation The expansion of the internet, and other technologies that enhance communication, have inadvertently led corporations to exist within a global market that require them to be omnisciently connected to the ever changing interests of their consumers. Online music piracy is the copyright infringement of audio-visual works through the use of the internet. It occurs when unauthorized copies are made of music or films. This criminal action has been a significant worry for both the film and music industry since the late 1970's, but the recent boom in technology has ushered in a new age of piracy that is unparalleled. The key devastating factor music piracy does to record companies, specifically outside of the U.S. and U.K., is that it is allowing unit capacity to outweigh demand. This is bad for record execs, but the conflict that arises from this is whether it is morally wrong. It is estimated that illegal music piracy in the U.S. cost the music industry 4.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2004, equaling a third of the CDs sold world wide (Kennedy, 2005). This accounts for an estimated 1.5 billion units lost in this conflict. The estimated value for the world pirate market is said to equate to the entire legitimate recording industry markets of the U.K., Netherlands and Spain combined (Kennedy, 2005). China is estimated as having the world's largest piracy market. Fig1 (Kennedy, 2005) Simple piracy - the packaging of the pirate copies is different from the original. They are often compilations, such as the "greatest hits" of a specific artist, or a collection of a specific genre, such as dance tracks. Counterfeits - the packaging of the pirate copies resembles the original as closely as possible. the record companies' trade marks are reproduced in order to mislead the consumer into believing that they are buying an original product. Bootlegs - these are the unauthorized recordings of live or broadcast performances. (MIPI, 2006) Here we see the defined break down of this criminal act. One detrimental concern outside of the record industry revenues is the direct relation found with music piracy and organized crime and gangs. An Italian Police officer, coordinator of a unit involved in a major anti-piracy operation, was shot at in Naples in November 2004Forensic police specialists confirmed the attack was intended to kill. It is believed the attempt is related to the recent anti-piracy operation which uncovered an extensive organization involved in counterfeit music and movies, and liked to a well-known Camorra mafia gang. (Kennedy, 2005) The Camorra gang was found to be a significant contributor to the jail population sentenced to jail for piracy convictions. They made up 213 of the 1,800 people who were sentenced (Kennedy, 2005). As technologies enhance, corporations and law enforcement are finding it harder to stay up tempo with the change in times. A new trend in music piracy is the use of the CD-R format. This is the illegal procurement and sharing of copy-written audio or video material solely through the use of the internet. It is proving to be much easier, and faster than previous piracy methods, at a cheaper cost to the culprit. Some of the industrial burning machines can burn up to 60 CD-Rs and hour (Kennedy, 2005). Individual PCs are able to crank out these burnt copies at a faster rate as well. The pirates who tend to use CD-R are also said to download smaller more locally known artist than the internationally known ones. This places even more stress on struggling artists. The CD-Rs that contain mp3 files are capable of holding more than five full-length albums. The advent of DVD-R is now allowing pirates hold six times the CD-R amount (Kennedy, 2005). The shifts in popular piracy methods can be seen in figure 2 below. Fig2 (Kennedy, 2005) Here it can be seen that CD-R use is gradually taking over the piracy market. It should be noted, as previously mentioned, that each CD-R burned can equate to the value of more than five CDs. This does not mean that all 36% of the CD-R piracy done world wide accounts for this many lost units, but it puts the above chart in a clearer perspective. In his 2005 commercial piracy report of the recording industry, John Kennedy argues that the music industry fights piracy because if it did not, the music industry would quite simply not exist (2005). He bases this notion on the fact that piracy has already devastated business for the recording industry certain regions of the world. He points out that the market in Latin America brings in two fifths the amount it did in 1997, and that markets in Asia outside of Japan bring in half as much since 97 as well. This new trend in obtaining music may very well end the recording industry, but the person that does benefit from music piracy is the consumer. By music being easily accessible online, artists are expected even more to put out quality material. This simple fact has created a shift in the music industry where popular music is becoming more abstract, socially conscious and aesthetically aware. The Music Industry Piracy Investigations cites declares that to pay for music is to do the right thing. On their cite, they claim that to say asserting that music should be free is the same as saying it has no value-that music is worthless (MIPI, 2006). This view is openly opposed by Musical groups like Fallout Boy, Gnarles Barkley, and The Shins, who are confident enough in their music to market their albums directly to the internet through MySpace, itunes, and allow listeners to download their albums for free, are reaping the benefits. These artists are known for blowing up over night in a way that has never happened in previous years, strictly through the free internet distribution of their albums. Gnarles Barkley's hit single Crazy is the first single ever to top the U.K. singles chart solely on download sales (BBC News, 2006). This is due to the fact that the group purposely released the single for download a week before releasing it on CD. It is the first single to top the U.K. single charts for nine weeks consecutively since 1994, and it has equaled Queen's 1975 classic Bohemian Rhapsody, which topped the U.K. charts for nine weeks as well. As of august 23 2006, the album sold 772,000 copies (The Daily Record, 2006). This are legitimate sales and don't include the number of copies of the album which were specifically marketed towards piracy. Gnarles Barkley is just proof that if the music is quality than it will be successful. It also puts the artists in the driver's seat, earning them more profit and giving less power to the record companies, by not needing their help with marketing. Music artist are also rediscovered by transcending generations, gaining the artists even greater appreciation over time. It has always been common practice of the recording industry to give priority to artists who could accumulate more sales, while all the while the artists only receive a small percentage of the record sales themselves. This creates artists who are reliant on the record companies, and record companies who filter art through a corporate perspective. The elimination of the record industry might be the best thing that ever happened to music, and it may very well be the direction the world is going. Pierre Bourdieu is a highly acclaimed French sociologist. Born on August 1, of 1930, he recently passed away on January 23, 2002. His views embody the disciplines of many tenets including: philosophy, literary theory, sociology, and anthropology. Pierre Bourdieu asserts that public opinion does not exist (Bourdieu, 1984). This poses the question, how should we conceive public opinion If it is true that the public does not exist, than the real question is, whose opinion is public opinion Bourdieu credits what we perceive to be public opinion as the views of the minority economic elite who own the media outlets and who mold a public opinion that promotes the values which cater to their best interests and keeps them affluent. The record industry is a prime example of Bourdieu's theory in practice, but music piracy gives the people a viable public perception. New upcoming artists are expected to make albums that embody the aesthetic awareness of an excessively downloading culture. The benefit of this is that the music is better, and the artists are able to market and distribute the albums themselves, reaping all of the profits. The artists can sell less, make more, and maintain more devout fan bases that will buy their albums and go to their shows, specifically to support them. They are also able to distribute their music around the world without the assistance of record companies. This changes the industry dramatically. It identifies the artists who love the music and weeds out those who are just concerned with financial gain. The problem with this for record companies is that they are solely concerned with financial gain, but is the understanding of this new cultural shift that will benefit industry revenues. Many attempt to make up for their losses in revenues by suing the major piracy sites. The Music Industry Piracy Investigations recently announced in a media release the results of a lawsuit where the Australian Recording Industry sought a record breaking pay out from Kazaa for major copyright infringement (MIPI, July 2006). Kazaa agrees to pay a compensation, and they go legal (MIPI, July 2006). Though the Australian companies benefited from this case, it is proven that going after companies like Kazaa is not a substantial method of improving income for record companies. In their essay, No More Shadow Boxing with Online Music Piracy: Strategic Business Models to Enhance Revenues, the Department of Operations and Information Management School of Business published a study in reaction to this phenomenon. They concluded that it is not necessary for a record company to contest music piracy corporations like Kazaa, or Napster due to the fact that it has no direct connection with revenue (2002). They found that this was especially true when the music downloaded illegally was of high quality. The recommendation for record companies to improve their revenues was basically to adopt and maintain subscription based pricing and online based search assistance. This is a system where the consumer basically pays the record company for finding the current music online, and by paying a subscription fee they are able to download the top quality of the music for modest fee. Though this is not the traditional method of the way the record companies do business, it is seemingly a contrast between the industry and the internet. Kimball Fisher puts it best when defining the position record company execs must take when dealing with this information age. If you want to be effective in a high tech industry and you approach [the market] only from an engineering perspective, you won't get things marketed very well. If you approach it from marketing only, you might create things that cannot actually be built. A variety of experiences and technical perspectives are required in today's complex business environment. (Fisher, 1998) Record companies have no choice but to acknowledge that consumers are first drawn to internet piracy for its convenience. With this subscription method, the record corporations are countering piracy and improving their revues by being more convenient. The study was unable to confirm the connection between the temporal aspects of music and consumer taste with sales. In sum, groups like the MIPI must acknowledge that though music is a business, it is a different type of industry than a regular corporation; and with advents in internet technology the rules have changed and music is as free for the people as the web, or fresh air. The record industry can hold on to the past and the rights they hold over their artists, but their artists will just be surpassed by more talented independent musicians. Groups like Gnarles Barkley who use piracy to their advantage are just slight examples of the changes to come. In order to maintain revenue, record executives must be willing to compromise and reinvent ways to use internet piracy, and not go against it. Work Cited Bourdieu, Pierre. (1984) Distinction, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Crazy song makes musical history. BBC News. Retrieved on April 2, 2006. Fiske, John (1987) Television Culture, London: Methuen. Fiske, John (1992) Popularity and the Politics of Information in P. Dahlgren and C. Sparkes (eds) Journalism and Popular Culture, London: Sage. Gnarls Go Out On Top. The Daily Record. Retrieved on May 28, 2006 Interview - Josh Deutsch, A&R for Gnarls Barkley (No.1 UK) - Sep 04, 2006. HitQuarters. Retrieved on November 9, 2006 Minow, Martha. (2006) Not Only for Myself Identity, Politics, and the Law. New P, 1997. Chapter 2, Identities. 8 Dec. 2006. No More Shadow Boxing with Online Music Piracy: Strategic Business Models to Enhance Revenues' (2002) S. Bhattacharjee & R. D. Gopal, K. Lertwachara & J. R. Marsden. Leading Self-Directed Work Teams: A Guide to Developing New Coleman, William E.Personnel Psychology.Durham: Winter 1993.Vol.46,Iss.4;pg.893,3pgs http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pqdwebdid=742940&sid=1&Fmt=7&clientId=20174&RQT=309&VName=PQD Shedding light on knowledge work learning Fisher, Kimball ,Mareen Duncan Fisher. The Journal for Quality and Participation.Cincinnati:Jul/Aug 1998. Vol.21,Iss.4;pg.8,9pgs http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pqdwebdid=32080883&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=20174&RQT=309&VName=PQD The collective mind at work Fisher,Kimball .Management Review.New York: Jan 1998.Vol.87,Iss.1;pg.F2,2pgs http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pqdwebdid=25187668&sid=1&Fmt=7&clientId=20174&RQT=309&VName=PQD The Distributed Mind: Achieving High Performance Through the Collective Intelligence of Knowledge Work Teams Mark J Safferstone.The Academy of Management Executive.Briarcliff Manor: May 1998.Vol.12,Iss.2;pg.107,2pgs http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pqdwebdid=29809079&sid=1&Fmt=7&clientId=20174&RQT=309&VName=PQD Tips for Teams: A Ready Reference for Solving Common Team Problems Smith, Richard L.Personnel Psychology.Durham: Autumn 1995.Vol.48,Iss.3;pg.689,4pgs http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pqdwebdid=7004252&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=20174&RQT=309&VName=PQD Exploring the impacts of P2P networks on the entertainment industry (2004)vol.12, No. 1, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND COMPUTER SECURITY See Wikipedia, Copyright infringement of audio-visual works, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement_of_audio-visual_works (optional description here) (as of Mar. 4, 2007, 19:35 GMT). www.afm.org/public/departments/leg_issues_05.php www.mipi.com.au/musicpiracy.htm www.ifpi.org/content/library/piracy_report2006.pdf www.ifpi.org/content/library/piracy2005.pdf Read More