Caution! Illegal music downloading

    More than anything else, music seems to be the one common factor in all teenagers’ lives. On a daily basis, you see people with ear buds poking out of their ears, before school, after school, and sometimes even during the school day. It seems that teenagers can’t get enough music.

    “I listen to Taylor Swift in my car on the way to school, and then at school my friends share their iPods with me so I can listen to their songs,” said junior Kate Salpini. Whether it is a country love song, a funky dance beat, or a clash of drums and guitar, you can be sure teenagers all over the world are listening to it.

    But from where exactly do these teenagers, who don’t hold high paying jobs, get their music?

    As we all know, music doesn’t come cheap. A newly released CD costs upwards of $12  for eight tracks. While that’s not a lot to pay once or twice, getting music to fill the now so popular iPods all from CDs would leave one’s wallet empty in no time.

    When Apple first launched iTunes in 2001, its popularity could not have been predicted. The online store which sells digital music along with other media files i, had sold over 4 billion songs by the second week in January of this year.

    Each song on iTunes costs only 99 cents to download, making it possible for people to buy individual songs allowing them to pick and choose the songs that they like, rather than wasting money on a whole album.

    “I get most of my music from iTunes,” said senior Kevin McCracken. “I have a lot of iTunes gift cards.”

    Salpini also buys her music from iTunes. “I have no problem buying it from there because I know it’ll be good quality,” she said.

    There are many others like McCracken who buy all of their music from iTunes, but there does exist a vast number of people who don’t buy, from iTunes or otherwise. These are the people who choose to download music illegally from the Internet, without paying and without permission from the artist.

    The most common method of music downloading today is peer-to-peer file sharing, where the files are stored on and served by personal computers of the users and do not require a server.

    P2P file sharing is different from file trading in that downloading files from a P2P network does not require uploading as well. Although P2P file sharing is legal in that people are allowed to share files, the sharing of copyrighted material is illegal.

    “I don’t think that downloading music should be illegal. It’s just like sharing a book with a friend. We don’t get fined for sharing a book, even though authors work just as hard to write their books as singers do to sing their songs, so why should sharing songs be illegal?” said junior Lucas Cochran.

    Thought processes like Cochran’s have led many people to create downloading programs and websites where people can upload and download copyrighted file.

    The first illegal downloading program, Napster, was created by Shawn Fanning in 1999. At its peak, over 80 million registered users were downloading from it. Just six months after its creation, however, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) sued Napster for $100,000 per each downloaded song, effectively shutting down the company for not paying the due royalties to the artist and producers. The millions of users got off free of charge, with thousands of illegally downloaded songs still on their computers.

    The problem with the legal aspect of illegal music downloading is that it is virtually impossible for the RIAA to find every single person who has ever downloaded illegally and slap them with a fine.

    “Downloading music off the Internet should be illegal because it siphons away money from people who worked hard to make the music, but its unrealistic to enforce because they can’t come and knock on everyone’s door and punish them,” said junior Anita Obasi.

    Therefore the RIAA is reduced to attacking companies and only individuals who support an extreme amount of P2P sharing of illegal music and other files.

    Obasi brings up an important point that illegal music downloading hurts the artists who work hard to make their music.

    However, a Microsoft study conducted in February of 2008 found that 47% of the teenagers surveyed felt that the entertainment companies make too much money already.

    Although teenagers might feel this way, the music industry claims that since 1999, it has lost 20 percent in global sales due to the increasing popularity of P2P file sharing.

    The fact that downloading music is illegal does not stop many kids from doing it.

    “I know some people that have downloaded like 1,000 songs, I only have around 250,” said sophomore John Hartley, an avid downloader of illegal files, music, videos, and software included. “I’ve probably stolen over 600 dollars worth of stuff. There’s no way I’m going to spend hundreds of dollars on music when I can spend it on a new ipod or something.”

    His sentiments however, do not always match those of other students.

    “I used to download music from Limewire until I got a virus on my computer that made it crash. I lost everything, my photos, documents, even the music I downloaded. I guess you could say that I learned my lesson,” said McCracken. “I think its worth the 99 cents for better quality, and not having to worry about the side affects of downloading.”

    AHS students, it seems, are a mix of music buyers, illegal downloaders, and repenters, much like the rest of the world.

    While there are legal actions being taken against people who download music illegally, for example, the RIAA can sue for up to 150,000 dollars per downloaded song, all individuals who download cannot plausibly be caught.

    It seems that music is fated to be uploaded and downloaded again and again until something easier and faster is invented to replace it, much like record players were replaced by CDs. Until then, download or buy, the choice, and its consequences, are yours.