Our next project was to hold a debate about file sharing and piracy. My group had to argue that file sharing should be legal and that culture on the internet should be free. This meant that our opposing group were to argue the view against file sharing.
This Charlie Rose discussion with Lars Ulrich (Metallica) and Chuck D (Public Enemy) gives two different perspectives on the file sharing issue.
Ulrich argued his point against file sharing. Metallica have worked hard to achieve their success and he believed that it’s the artists right to own their songs and be in control of how they are distributed. This discussion took place in 2000 so a lot has changed since then but the principle is still the same. Downloading from sites such as Napster is theft of property. People are consistently breaking the law but they take it for granted that anything which is available to download on the internet is theirs to own. Essentially it’s like pick-pocketing someone on the street. Artists and record companies put a lot of time and effort into making music and for each illegal download you’re basically stealing money right out of their pockets. For world renowned artists like Beyonce, this is just petty cash. She probably uses $100 bills as toilet paper anyway. But for small bands who are just getting out there, illegal downloading is making it near enough impossible to achieve success. These bands have to pay for everything themselves and the money they should be getting from record sales is being stolen from them.
On the other hand, without websites like Spotify how are we ever going to discover new music? Beyonce has already been around for as long as I can remember, will she still be dancing around in a leotard when she’s in her 50’s? Well, if she’s anything like Madonna then yes she will. Consumer buzz is highly important for sales success and with links so social networks such as Facebook, spreading the word is easier than ever. I believe that one of the most important points is this; where do we draw the line with ‘file sharing’? How can we define it? If you invite a friend over to listen to a new CD you bought, that isn’t considered sharing music. If you can hear the guy at the bus stop playing Eminem far too loud, that isn’t considered as sharing music either. So how is sharing music online any different? Music has a significant effect in people’s lives and people who can’t afford it shouldn’t be deprived of this culture.
There are valid arguments from both points of view but let’s put it this way, I have 2649 songs on my iTunes and I do not have £2649. With most tracks costing 99p there is absolutely no way I could pay for the entire content of my iTunes library. If I were to legally download each and every song I would probably be listening to the same 10 songs on repeat for the rest of my life because that’s about all I can afford. The last album I physically purchased was ‘You Me At Six – Sinners Never Sleep’ in 2011. The only reason I broke the bank for this CD was because I was going to signing and having Sharpie signatures scribbled on my arm didn’t quite cut it. This doesn’t mean I don’t support the band in other ways though. I’ve bought merchandise and tickets for two of their shows. Granted, if it were possible to illegally download and print off my concert ticket for free, I would have done it. Unfortunately, it isn’t.
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