INDUSTRY RESPONSES

Digital music formats have changed the way we consume music, and arguably made it easier for new bands to break onto the scene. Music files can be downloaded easily online: convenient for the consumer and fine for record companies and artists provided they are getting something back – profits, usually – although sometimes artists are happy with press coverage and an increased fan base.

Task
1. What ‘official’ sources of music downloads do you know of?

2. Look at the average costs of downloading a music track. Where do you think the money you pay for a track goes?
Find some examples of artists who’ve made their material available online for free. Explain what you think they have got out of this arrangement.

3. Whilst there are plenty of legitimate ways to buy music online, there are also places where music is available illegally: filesharing networks being one of the key sources of illegal music files. But what exactly is illegal about an illegal download?

The issue is one of copyright. Artists who create music are the legal owners of that music (or their record companies are) and they are entitled to receive proceeds when their music changes hands – the same as when their CDs are sold in a shop. Illegal downloads are usually free, or if there is a cost involved, the proceeds do not go to the people who own the copyright in the music. Obviously this is a problem for the music industry, as it means lost income for them.

Although steps have been taken to reduce the availability of illegal downloads, and to give consumers more legal options, there are those who believe music should be free, and that record companies have been too slow to adapt to technological changes. But aside from exploiting someone else’s copyright, illegal downloads can also create problems for consumers in terms of unexpected content: users may end up with spyware or viruses rather than the music files they wanted. So do consumers have a duty to be responsible in their downloads? Should it come down to individual choice, or should an external body be involved?

In some countries, such as the United States of America, major internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to a process of sending warning letters to customers who use illegal filesharing sites. These measures were portrayed as a way of educating internet users about digital rights infringement. Copyright owners and ISPs also said they would work to ensure that users have legitimate alternatives available. There have also been proposals to introduce a policy whereby after three warning letters, users persistently infringing copyright may have their internet connection withdrawn for a period. Such systems have been introduced in France and the Republic of Korea.