Kazaarrrrrrr, you scurvy dogs. We’re on the account.
‘Tis a fine day to ride the surf of the Web. Swab the tape
deck you LAN lovers. Man the USB portside. Rig the line connection.
We’ll drop the cargo to the bottom of Davey Jones’
shared files folder. Queue the downloads and hoist the uploads.
Shiver the timbers. Yo ho, yo ho, ’tis a music pirate’s
life for me.”
For millions of Americans, file sharing has become just as much
an Internet staple as e-mail, instant messaging and Cindy Margolis.
The ability to download any type of song, movie, game or program
was a God-sent attachment. Not since Al Gore invented the Internet
has anything on that Internet been so great and problem-free.
Online pornography has certainly found its share of messes. You can
no longer have unprotected cyber sex without fear of contracting
some crippling virus. And if you store gig after gig of porn on
your computer, your hard drive will become nothing more than a
floppy disk.
But, music swapping! Now, there was a bastion of Internet glory
that offered little to no downside. Yes, my friends, Kazaa,
Gnutella and old school-Napster ““ as opposed to the new
Napster pay-service ““ were our last utopian domains. However,
times have changed and with legal action being brought against more
and more file sharers, we might soon find ourselves the victims of
mega-entertainment corporations.
So where did things go wrong? For that you need to look no
further than the Recording Industry Association of America. The
RIAA has decided that a lagging economy and relatively weak albums
with exorbitant price tags are not responsible for poor sales
““ rather, file sharing is the culprit. But the record
industry fails to realize that they should be courting these music
lovers, not taking them to court.
Instead, however, the RIAA targeted a preteen girl and 260 other
file sharers in their first wave of lawsuits. In October, the RIAA
decided they would generously warn 204 new targets that they were
going to be sued, giving these new litigants time to settle before
a possible court date. The RIAA has so far reached settlements with
156 would-be defendants and has received about $3,000 per
settlement.
Carey-Sue Sherman, the president of the RIAA, has said the
lawsuits are essential for curbing copyright infringement. For this
litigious man, isn’t it appropriate that “sue” is
literally his middle name?
One of the members of the RIAA is the Sony Corporation, a
company that has, over the past five years, made millions on the
sales of MP3 players. Some say this is not a conflict of interest.
Right, and denial ain’t just something in the “Walk
Like an Egyptian” video. It seems these Dr. Killjoys have
taken the hypocrisy oath.
And how did they obtain all their information about each John Q.
Downloader? Shouldn’t consumers expect certain levels of
privacy from their Internet providers? If Linda Tripp can get a
cool half-million dollars for invasion of privacy, I too am
entitled to a little privacy if I choose to download a version of
Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.”
If this keeps up, the only people who will be able to own music
will be the wealthy. When will our knight ride in to rescue us?
When will Sir Mix-A-Lot save the day? Yes, the mass transfer of
music files does violate copyright infringement laws. But instead
of working with consumers to combat the problem, the music industry
doesn’t seem interested in providing its customers with
anything more than subpoenas.
Whether it is by lowering CD and single album prices, creating
an affordable pay-to-download service such as Apple
Computer’s iTunes, or some other method, it is up to the
music industry to make people want to pay for music again.
Selective prosecution is not the answer.
The rising of Napster from the ashes was a good start, but the
costs are still too high: 99 cents can get you a lot of food at
Wendy’s, a 20-minute phone call on 10-10-220 or just one
lonely song on the resurrected service. A reasonable meeting ground
can be met between the music executives and music listeners. The
wrath of the law is not necessary to set up such a meeting.
Pfohl is a fifth-year history student. E-mail him at
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.