Swap Music Files example essay topic

524 words
"RIAA Targets Are Surprised By Piracy Suits" Author: Nick Wingfield & Nick Baker September 16, 2003 The Wall Street Journal Section B 1 & B 2 The record industry has made another attack on the millions of people who download music from online media libraries. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) targeted individuals who had uploaded large amounts of songs in recent months and they also targeted users which have the most copyright violating songs. So far the RIAA has filed 261 lawsuits against certain "file sharers", ranging from a 12-year-old, to Grandmother from Manhattan. The author of this article wanted the reader to see the ridiculous lengths that the RIAA is going through trying to put a dent in the over 10 million people that swap music files every day.

But according to the article most people are, "outraged at the notion that the record industry thinks that suing 12-year old kids and grandparents is a constructive way out of this". The RIAA's rebuttal to the people who think the lawsuits are ludicrous is that, "This is not a popularity contest; this is an education and enforcement campaign". I found this article interesting, because like any other person with a computer, internet access, and a CD burner I have downloaded every song that I have wanted for the last five years without stepping foot into a record store. The article does raise doubt that I'm safe when I'm watching a song download, but it does not get close to stopping me.

An interesting question that the article brings forward is as in many of the cases the person being sued, says that even though it is their account more than one person had access to there computer and it was not them who downloaded the music, it is turning Johnson 2 into a blame game, because the RIAA can not find out which person directly is downloading the song only the user who the account is registered to. I feel that the record industry is fighting an uphill battle and really is not accomplishing anything but making more enemies. Kazza, a popular file sharing software program, is already trying to develop a program that will keep users identities undetectable while online swapping files. After I read this article is just made me realize how greedy the music industry is.

I have never seen a musician hungry in the streets, and when I hear complaints about the money that they loose then why do they always say "I do it for the love of music" or "I do it for the fans". The war on file sharing is our generations "war on drugs". File sharing is something that will never go away. The record company has tried to make software that you can download music for $1 a piece, but why buy an apple from the market when you can pick it right off the tree for free. The RIAA needs to understand that the world can not be under there control, nor can technology be stopped..