College has quite a few advantages over home. Aside from classes, there are clubs, computer labs, the library and that wonderful internet connection. Many students came to N.C. State after using 56k or family computers, so going from that to what is pretty much a dedicated T1 line overwhelms most students. Few students do what they did at home: download illegal music.
The problem is the Record Industry Association of America knows this and keeps its all-seeing eye on colleges particularly. So far, at least 50 lawsuits have been filed against students at NCSU for illegally downloading music. They have all opted to settle for several thousand dollars.
The University doesn’t like it either, from what I can tell, but what can it do? The University can’t take on the giants of the recording industry. But what exactly is the RIAA’s beef with piracy? First of all, the RIAA likes to hide behind the idea that piracy takes away money from artists, which is not true. As much as Lars Ulrich wants to complain about it, he really doesn’t get much from those record sales.
Artists get most of their money from concerts and from CD sales during the concert. However, the RIAA has a $2 surcharge built into all the CDs they sell along with a clause that two percent of the manufacturer’s sales must be given to the RIAA. Not buying albums hurts the RIAA, not the artists.
Same with that lawsuit money — when the RIAA settled with MP3.com for 158 million dollars, only the labels received the money, not the artists. The RIAA also likes to rely on your sense of “logic”. After all, if you can get something for free, why would you buy it? Except bottled water. People will buy stuff solely on the implied quality of the product. Physical copies of CDs do look nice, and come with more extras. If CDs didn’t cost so much because of all the artificial inflation the RIAA put on them, and if they weren’t all packages for singing lessons on the radio — it’s actually known as Tub-thumper Syndrome — after the famous single by Chumbawumba that was sold with a bunch of horrid songs, more people would buy them.
Studies have shown that people who illegally download music also buy a lot more than those that don’t download. This is because they are more invested in music than people who just listen to the radio. And really, the industry has started changing.
I-Tunes has been a massive success, allowing people to buy those singles and not the chaff that surrounds it. More and more artists release albums for free on their Web sites, and some adapt to piracy. When in die pop band Stars found out its latest album had been leaked, the band pre-released it on their Web site for cheap, and when the album releases in September for normal price, it will for a limited time come with a bonus DVD.
Rap artist Chamillionaire has released three mix tape collections and a DVD for free in order to encourage fans to buy his album instead of pirating it. Alternative rock bands Rilo Kiley and Eisley both released their albums in entirety for streamed listening on their Web sites. And that ignores the artists that are just releasing stuff for free with no want of money; Jamendo.com operates on the same principles of Wikipedia and has thousands of mp3s and albums available for free from artists all around the world.
Everyone but the RIAA has realized the world has changed. Eventually, they’ll hit a wall; there’s no way to legislate everything. But you’re probably a cool person, so just a bit of advice. Try to cut down on the illegal downloading for a bit.
If you want a single you should check out the band’s Web site. Most bands have them for free on their sites. You want music and supporting artists — we’ve actually got a surprisingly good local music scene and the DJs at WKNC. They can help you out with finding upcoming concerts and a nice place to chill. Buy albums if you want to, but I’m not advocating piracy at all. The RIAA will lose.
So don’t jump on Limewire immediately after getting that new computer hooked up. Just think about it for a second, find better and legal opportunities to get music, and eventually, they’ll be gone and we can start getting a market that actually reflects good taste instead of whatever sells the most.
Do you have a downloading experience? E-mail your comments to [email protected]
