Introduction
Music became an essential part of people’s life. People listen to music everywhere. The discussion of music is very popular among youth. Young people discuss the new discs, the new trends in music, some music news, and other issues connected with music. It seems that the music interests predetermine the people’s characters. The music world industry provides its listeners with discs of different singers and groups.
The wide spreading of music leads to illegal music downloading in the world market. There are different points of view on the problem, and different participants in the music industry have their own opinions. Fans, artists, and music industry executives have different aims in the music industry but they all often suffer from illegal music downloading in this or that way.
Lean-in and hook
Illegal music downloading is a theft, which is organized openly and no one wants to be involved in the process of securing people from these illegal actions.
Introducing the conflicting parties
Fans, artists, and music industry executives have different aims; they want to get different profits from music. Artists create music and want to get their salary, they want their work to be appreciated and paid for. Fans want to enjoy the music of their loved artists and at the same time pay nothing or at least less. Music industry executives also want to get some profit from their work.
Illegal music downloading causes lots of problems to fans, artists, and music industry executives even though illegal music downloading can be useful. Even fans, who are supposed to be the winners in this situation, also suffer.
Common grounds
As it was already mentioned, fans, artists, and music industry executives have their aims. They value the individual rights of each other. Illegal music downloading touches all these groups of people in different ways. The understanding that illegal music downloading harms them all does not become the reason to stop it.
Illegal music downloading usually provides the listeners with terrible sound. Free downloading of different music tracks is usually not of a high standard. Fans, artists, and music industry executives suffer from it. Fans are provided with terrible music and do not want to listen to this or that singer anymore. Artists and music industry executives suffer from losing their fans, and as a result financial profit, especially as there is no blame here.
Illegal music downloading may also bring some profit to fans, artists, and industry executives. The new music tracks may be unknown to the public, and free downloading may be a very useful helper in this situation. Fans listen to new tracks and if they like it, they are sure to buy a CD.
Where we differ: Focus on the specific points of difference
Fans pursue their aim in the current situation. They want to get the soundtrack of the favorite group or singer without paying too much. Illegal music downloading allows them to pay nothing. The internet is full of musical tracks to any taste. To get a copy of this or that track is not a problem today.
The existence of illegal music downloading causes some financial problems to the artists. They lose financial incomes. Artists work hard to create pieces of music, and that they want to get some payment for this. The creation of music is their work, and they want to get their salary for their work.
The music industry executives also suffer some financial problems from illegal music downloading. The work of the music industry executives depends on the legal purchase of music products and getting the benefits. Financial income depends on the profit, achieved by the legal purchase of music products.
Possible drawbacks of each side getting their way
The artists and the music industry executives regard internet music downloading as illegal. Lawrence Lessig in his article “Protecting music” (2001), writes that artists and the music industry executives cannot criticize the internet downloading of music and call it “theft”, as they do the same. Some artists “do not call it theft when they are recording takeoffs of prior recorded music” (Lessig 2001, 315). Artists use old music for their needs and do not hurry to call it theft.
The other opinion on this problem has Jim Rogan. He says about the intellectual property rights of artists. He also insists, that downloading songs off the internet for free is “no different than walking into Tower Records and grabbing CDs and sticking them under your coat” (Rogan 2003, 31).
To support fans, Evangelista (2003) in his article presents the idea that the forbiddance of free downloading of music will not send people to the music stores for CD buying. So, there is no need to do this.
Resolution
Illegal music downloading cannot be removed from the internet. Free internet downloading should be limited by time, the number of downloaded files, or the size of these files.
In sum, illegal music downloading harms the music industry in some way, but then there is no guarantee that the liquidation of free internet downloading will lead to big changes in the music industry. The problem needs some solving as free downloading has captured the whole internet. The problem just needs some regulation. That is all.
Reference List
Evangelista, B. (2003) “Penalties Frighten Music Traders”. San Francisco Chronicle.
Lessig, L. (2001). Protecting Music. The future of ideas. Random House, Inc.
Rogan, J. (2003) “We have to Treat Theft as Theft”. US Newswire.