MusicUnited.org

What Others Have to Say

Whether it involves music, videos, movies or software, the theft of intellectual property is a big problem that’s attracting an increasing amount of attention. Check out what’s been written.

My Turn: There's One More Talk You Need to Have
Newsweek
Martha Stansell-Gamm
September 15, 2003

Small Guy Hurt By Music Piracy, Too
Centre Daily Times
June 25, 2003

Students' file sharing overloads college networks
CNN.com
October 10, 2002

The Threat of Piracy to Songwriters
Testimony at House Judiciary Committee Hearing
Phil Galdston
September 26, 2002

What's fast, easy -- and plain stealing?
By Doug Robinson
Deseret News
July 23, 2002

Virtual Shoplifting
The Santa Barbara New-Press
July 11, 2002

Piracy Hurts Everyone Online and Offline
By Congressman Ed Towns
The Hill
May 22, 2002

Piracy In Cyberspace
By Congressman Lamar Smith
June 17, 2002

Doonesbury Comics
By Gary Trudeau
March 25 - 30, 2002
DOONESBURY © 2002 G. B. Trudeau. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All Rights reserved.

Stealing Entertainment
By Congressman Bob Goodlatte
The Washington Times
May 27, 2002

The Santa Barbara News-Press
July 11, 2002
Virtual shoplifting

The Santa Ynez Valley's Michael Jackson spent last Saturday riding in a bus around Manhattan branding the head of his music label racist and stopping to picket the studio's headquarters.

It's the talk of Tinseltown. We'll resist commenting on the merits of the claims by the so-called King of Pop. Instead, what struck us was that Mr. Jackson's antics provide another example of the troubled music business.

In the age of free music on the Net, record companies no longer seem to be bursting with cash. The recording industry will have to turn on itself as never before to fight over the declining spoils.

But what's next? Recall the sign taped on the storefront window of Morninglory Music in Isla Vista earlier this year. It read, "Morninglory Music is closed for good in Isla Vista, due to lack of business. (There was no way to compete with free downloadable music and CD burners)."

Expect more to come unless there's a culture change about the blatant theft of copyrighted material enabled by high-tech advances.

Many point fingers at teens and college students. It's true that students at UCSB and other schools across the country are expert pirates. They buy the hot releases and make copies on a CD burner. They give them away or sell them at bargain prices to friends.

Others simply download copyrighted songs from the Net without buying anything. It's possible to piece together, say, the entire new Sheryl Crow release from the Web. There even are sites that enable people to copy CD art and packaging.

Presto, an instant duplicate CD.

But it isn't just kids who are into this virtual shoplifting. Older music lovers increasingly are joining the club without any remorse that they're copying material rightfully owned and created by others. In some cases they're using their kid's computer.

We're no Luddites. But this slippery slope is a worry because of what it could mean for business beyond the music industry. It's also a question of personal ethics.

Electronics retailer Circuit City last month said it will stop selling films on VHS and only stock DVDs. Other chains will follow.

Technology now lets people easily copy not just songs but feature-length films. The Internet allows people to send copies of movie DVDs to friends or strangers around the world. Any new encryption technology to prevent pirating ultimately would only get cracked.

Much of California's prosperity depends on the entertainment industries. Movies are an economic engine fueling Santa Barbara's nightlife too. Movie-goers crowd State Street and other venues. They buy dinners at restaurants and drinks at taverns, so not just movie houses are at risk.

More laws aren't the answer because they would be unenforceable except in extreme cases of intellectual property theft. Existing statutes can handle those violations.

It shouldn't come down to fear of the copyright cops. Instead, adults need to instill in young people that copying or selling pirated CDs and DVDs is nothing more than shoplifting. It's a lesson that some adults need to learn as well.

Reprinted with permission from the Santa Barbara News-Press.