Honesty is the best policy

Stop downloading music illegally

Matt Abra, Volunteer Staff

Those who are unaware — unaware of the music business, unaware of the effort, and greatly unaware of the fact that they are aiding in the eventual implosion of the industry — are those who listen to the music as superficially as they attain it.

I wish that I were a successful musician. Because if I were, I would get asked that obligatory question that is posed to bands in every single interview: “What is your stance on illegal downloading?”

My answer would cut to the chase. I would not plod on with one of those in-depth “This is my profession” answers. In reality, file-sharing can really be summed up in two words: it’s illegal. And by “illegal,” I mean it’s against the law. And by “against the law,” I mean you could go to jail! I can’t think of a simpler comment to make in a “comment” piece.

Of course, one could argue that we break the law all the time in little ways. We litter, we speed, we get fined $200 for having an open beer in a parking lot (no bitterness there), but you must admit that stealing is something we do not look upon lightly. Most people don’t look at it this way, but there really is zero difference between illegally downloading an album and pulling one off the shelves in a music store and walking out without paying. It is for this reason that I find it kind of peculiar when people look at me like I’m nuts after I tell them I still pay for music.

Those who are unaware — unaware of the music business, unaware of the effort, and greatly unaware of the fact that they are aiding in the eventual implosion of the industry — are those who listen to the music as superficially as they attain it.

It’s a problem. It’s a problem that continues to grow. The music industry’s global trade body recently announced that despite a major increase in received revenue from digital music sales in 2007, it didn’t come anywhere close to offsetting the billions of dollars that were lost to music piracy. In fact, illegal downloads currently outnumber legitimate sales by a margin of 20 to one. That statistic is incredible. One person in 20 chooses morality over cheapness.

So the question stands: what can we do about illegal downloading? Or, even worse, what is there left to do about it? Plenty of lawsuits have been filed, and plenty of Internet sites have been shut down; but in this technological age, once the seed is planted, it never stops growing. Somehow I can’t see our prison system having the capacity to hold, well, almost everyone.

There was a recent proposal to charge an extra $80 for every IPod sold, in an attempt to recoup some of the lost revenue. The proposal was denied, and rightfully so. When I first heard about the idea I was intrigued and supported it. But after some reflection, an obvious question came to mind: why should honest people like myself be punished for everyone else’s corruption? It’s like mechanics: the ones who tell the truth are always the ones that go out of business. When it comes to music, I, for one, refuse to be compromised by other people’s dirty business.

And how about the actual music? By now most people are familiar with Radiohead’s recent ploy to symbolically turn the tables on music thieves. By releasing their latest album In Rainbows on the Net for the reasonable price of whatever-you-want, they actually caused some people to stop and think about what they were doing, if only for a moment. In their words, “We thought it would be an interesting experiment to see what people think music is worth these days.” The word “worth” is not one that illegal downloaders often seem to take into account. It is immediately zapped out of their head when the word “free” comes into the picture. Someone needs to remind them that price and worth are not in fact the same thing. In some cases, I agree that music is over-priced, but that by no means indicates that it is worthless. Given the time and perfectionism that goes into creating a music album, I, for one, think that the $10 I pay per album on ITunes is quite reasonable.

It all boils down to my ultimate belief when it comes to illegal downloading, and indeed, my most controversial: people who do it are not true music fans. Those who are so unaware — unaware of the economics, unaware of the effort, and greatly unaware of the fact that they are aiding in the eventual implosion of the industry — are those who listen to the music as superficially as they attain it.

I buy a lot of music. I’d probably be free of debt by now if I simply gave in to the dishonour of piracy. But it isn’t much for me to listen to music that I consider tainted. The money for producing music has to come from somewhere, and if I was helping to prevent the future production of great music, how could I possibly consider myself as someone who appreciates music on a level greater than your average enthusiast? Sure, some people just use music as a tool; but others will declare themselves true music fans if they use it as a cradle, they will claim it if music is their soothing place of refuge. But a real true music fan is someone who does all of that on top of being a realist. So, get real, people! Start paying the people who created your sanctuary.

Matt Abra is a third-year Arts student.