I Want My MTV The Ethical Implications of Downloading Mp3s

What is the RIAA? n Recording Industry Association of America –Represents +500 companies related to musicians, artists, and producers –Members are responsible for 90% of the music released in the U.S. n Includes: BMG, EMI, Sony, Tommy Boy, etc.

According to the RIAA... n Online Piracy –Playing or downloading songs and lyrics from the Internet… n Without authorization n Without compensating the artists n Downloading even one song is piracy, even if it is not resold.

The RIAA is a large proponent of the SDMI n Secure Digital Music Initiative –Blueprint of standards for electronics manufacturers and software engineers n Designed to limit the number of times a music file can be copied n Helps to enforce copyrights n Will likely go the way of the Betamax –Would take away freedoms and institute rules where there presently are none n Not consumer friendly

What have they done about MP3s? n Legislate –v. Diamond (Rio) –Lost. Court found Rio wasn’t a “digital recording device” and therefore not subject to government regulation –v. Mp3.com (Instant Listening and Beam-it) –Ongoing. RIAA claims lawsuit has nothing to do with MP3s, only with the fact that mp3.com copied 45,000 CDs they did not license. –v. Napster –Ongoing. RIAA found virtually all traffic across Napster’s servers was illegal, even though Napster does not actually host any MP3 files.

Also, the RIAA has… n Harassed –71 Carnegie Mellon students had internet privileges revoked in November, 1999 n Result of unannounced, random search of 250 student files, some were password protected. n Dean of Student Affairs at CMU said search was instigated by RIAA after they threatened the University with legal action

RIAA’s Soundbyting Campaign n 300 universities around the country n According to RIAA, has resulted in a 10% drop in university music sites offering illegal downloads

“We’re finding sites with fewer songs available for download...” -From RIAA’s 1999 MidYear Anti-Piracy Report

“…which means illegal sound recordings…”

“…are becoming harder to find.” -Frank Chreighton RIAA Senior Vice President Director of Anti-Piracy

Where can I find MP3s? n The Web –AudioFind.com, mp3.lycos.com n Napster / Macster – n AppleTalk Network –Choates, Mass Row, River Cluster, etc... n Your Hard Drive –Admit it.

Official Release Date: February 29, 2000

How much does the industry lose? n “$5 billion every year to piracy worldwide--$1 million a day in the U.S.” –Some math: n $1 million X 365 days = $365 million/yr in U.S. n $5 billion - $365 million……hmmm… n Are college campuses really doing that much damage?

Will the MP3 boom destroy the industry? n By midyear 1999, U.S. market had sustained 1998’s “phenomenal increases,” and added 7% growth in sales. n Net value of all products shipped in the U.S. = $6.0 billion by midyear 1999 n “CD Album Product at an All-Time High” -RIAA 1999 Midyear Shipment Report

Can MP3s Be Used for Good as Well as Evil? n Mp3.com also provides a distribution service for unsigned bands –56,000 songs from 11,000 artists –Band “Red Delicious” has #2 hit on the site’s Top 40, and will open for Tom Petty n Has 3rd top selling CD on Mp3.com’s DAM label n Total CD sales? 600. n But, has received calls from several major labels due to their exposure on the website

Many Artists Support Mp3s –“I love the freedom…You don’t have to answer to A&R...We don’t have to play by anyone else’s rules.” n Darryl McDaniel, Run D.M.C. –“What you’ve got is…a balancing out…everybody will have to share a little bit more” “The beautiful thing now is I’ll have a producer, I’ll have an artist, and he’ll go and cut a song and the next day it’s up…It’s like -- boww! -- it’s out.” n Chuck D, Public Enemy

My Opinion n Downloading illegal mp3s is, technically, ethically wrong n Analogous to walking out of a music store with an armful of CDs without paying n Cheats the artists, the stores, and the record companies n RIAA claims this piracy is why the price of CDs continually increases

But it just feels SO good... n Great for those one-hit wonders n “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “ ” n Who really wants to buy those albums? n Who wants to pay $20 for a CD, regardless? n Many believe MP3 craze was fueled by exorbitant in-store music prices n Perhaps not as rampant as RIAA would like you to believe n Mp3’s are “basically a rich white kid’s game.” n Scott Smith, president of Digital On Demand n Meaning, there’s a select crowd with access, and even fewer who choose to use it. n RIAA: Too little, too late n Left picking up the pieces.

You could do a lot worse...