A group of people who called themselves "anonymous" is starting to write and send video messages to Congress about a law that is being enacted called SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) This video was made Nov 18th, 2011.
Click to learn about the law SOPA and to hear Anonymous' message.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Why This Blog Is Important.
People use technology more and more every day. Every month it seems as though there is a new or upgraded device coming out such as “iphone4” or “ipad2”. I believe that we can use this trend and gear it towards a greater good such as promoting awareness for piracy. The biggest problem for piracy is awareness.
Fun video/information about the future of technology. It also mentions statistics regarding piracy.
What type of awareness though is the problem? Consumers of online music are obviously well aware of piracy as it is a growing issue. However, if we were to ask the consumer about the consequences of piracy (i.e. “what are the legal ramifications?”) it is clear that this law was not publicized well at all.
College students are becoming more and more familiar and acclimated with the internet every day as well as the older generations such as the “Baby Boomers”. The blog that we have created---if it is promoted well---could really stand out and catch the attention of the local Lexington music community of all ages, or even of all interests since the blog will cater to all types of genres of music.
Using this blog, our group can do research on the legal aspect of piracy. We can ask questions such as “What are the laws exactly regarding illegal downloading? How does law enforcement handle these situations?” We post our findings to our blog via news links that we find or even in type up a report. We can also use our blog to promote University groups such as a possible “SLAM” (Support Local Arists and Musicians)Lexington chapter at the University of Kentucky. There is the possibility of going a step further and promoting the blog on a facebook page.
Most of the content we post is locally based: local news links, local laws, and just to spark interest with our audience with more than just news and reports, we can promote local bands, concerts and local CD store sales. We can appeal to all genres. If our audience is more aware of CD sales, they will be more apt to buy a physical CD than a digital copy. This is especially true if the CD is on sale for cheaper than you can buy online or at least at the same price.
All of this can give a sense of relevance and ethos to our audience that could have been lacking in past attempts by other groups to promote piracy awareness. It also brings a sense of community by promoting independently owned businesses who are struggling which will help our local economy.
So in conclusion, this blog is a big deal, it can really change things around if we try hard. Support us! :)
Fun video/information about the future of technology. It also mentions statistics regarding piracy.
What type of awareness though is the problem? Consumers of online music are obviously well aware of piracy as it is a growing issue. However, if we were to ask the consumer about the consequences of piracy (i.e. “what are the legal ramifications?”) it is clear that this law was not publicized well at all.
College students are becoming more and more familiar and acclimated with the internet every day as well as the older generations such as the “Baby Boomers”. The blog that we have created---if it is promoted well---could really stand out and catch the attention of the local Lexington music community of all ages, or even of all interests since the blog will cater to all types of genres of music.
Using this blog, our group can do research on the legal aspect of piracy. We can ask questions such as “What are the laws exactly regarding illegal downloading? How does law enforcement handle these situations?” We post our findings to our blog via news links that we find or even in type up a report. We can also use our blog to promote University groups such as a possible “SLAM” (Support Local Arists and Musicians)Lexington chapter at the University of Kentucky. There is the possibility of going a step further and promoting the blog on a facebook page.
Most of the content we post is locally based: local news links, local laws, and just to spark interest with our audience with more than just news and reports, we can promote local bands, concerts and local CD store sales. We can appeal to all genres. If our audience is more aware of CD sales, they will be more apt to buy a physical CD than a digital copy. This is especially true if the CD is on sale for cheaper than you can buy online or at least at the same price.
All of this can give a sense of relevance and ethos to our audience that could have been lacking in past attempts by other groups to promote piracy awareness. It also brings a sense of community by promoting independently owned businesses who are struggling which will help our local economy.
So in conclusion, this blog is a big deal, it can really change things around if we try hard. Support us! :)
Piracy is Bad
As technology has evolved, it has created many new and exciting developments in society today. Fifty years ago, who could’ve imagined using Skype to talk face-to-face to someone a continent away? However, these exciting developments have also created unforeseen developments, many of which have cause for concern. These include such issues as identity theft, computer hacking, and music piracy.
Music piracy, also known as copyright infringement, is defined as the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), there are two main types of piracy: physical piracy, which includes making illegal (“bootlegged”) copies of copyrighted material, and online piracy, which includes downloading illegal copies of copyrighted files, and is the more prevalent of the two. I will be discussing online piracy; what it is, who it affects, and why it needs to be stopped.
THE PROBLEM
Music piracy has become a huge hassle for the recording industry. The issue was first really brought to attention in the late 1990s with the rise of the peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing network, Napster (Borland). After its founding in June 1999 by 19-year-old Shawn Fanning, Napster blew up on the music scene as an easy way for people to (illegally) share and download music. Although music piracy had long existed before the coming of Napster, there had never really been an easy way for people to find music over the web. Napster was unique in its enabling of millions of people to open up their hard drives to others and allowing music to be downloaded with a simple search and click. Although Napster was shut down in 2001 by a Supreme Court ruling, other P2P applications have sprung up, including programs like Kazaa, Grokster, BitTorrent, FrostWire, and LimeWire.
PIRACY SUCKS
According to “The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy,” a study performed by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), global piracy of copyrighted music has set the United States economy back to the tune of $12.5 billion dollars, and has cost the country 71,060 jobs annually (Siwek). According to the 2007 study, American workers lose over $2.7 billion in earnings, and more than 26,000 jobs would have been created each year in the music industry had it not been for the advent of P2P network sharing and other forms of music piracy. In addition, the report estimated that the U.S. government loses at least $422 million each year in tax dollars that would have stemmed from legal digital music downloads and purchases of hard copies.
More of these staggering statistics can also be found on the RIAA’s website. According to the RIAA, increases in illegal downloads of music have caused a 31% decline in the overall global market decline from 2004 to 2010. In the decade since Fanning’s Napster emerged in 1999, music sales in the United States have dropped 47 %, from 14.6 billion to 7.7 billion. From 2004 to 2009, it has been estimated that over 30 billion songs were downloaded illegally, through either peer-to-peer sharing networks or usage of file-sharing websites such as thepiratebay.com. According to the National Purchase Diary (NPD) marketing group, only 37% of music acquired in 2009 was actually paid for by consumers. The other 63% was obtained without any revenue for either the music industry or the United States government. The association also cites songwriters, recording artists, audio engineers, computer technicians, talent scouts and marketing specialists, producers, and publishers as those being affected by people illegally downloading music (“RIAA”). These statistics show a clear correlation between increases in illegal downloads of music and declines in revenue in the music industry.
AND IT HURTS PEOPLE, TOO
When music is downloaded illegally, the recording industry loses out on revenue, which leads to less revenue for the artists who created the music, as well as less revenue for the government in the form of tax money. Music piracy also takes a big toll on many individuals within the recording industry, some of which aren’t commonly thought about. These include the enormous cast of industry players working behind the scenes, like songwriters, recording artists, audio engineers, computer technicians, talent scouts and marketing specialists, producers, publishers and many others. One study by the Institute for Policy Innovation estimates the annual cost at $12.5 billion dollars in losses to the U.S. economy as well as more than 70,000 lost jobs and $2 billion in lost wages to industry workers. Copyright infringement has, without a doubt, been facilitated by the development of sophisticated peer-to-peer network file-sharing.
LAST THOUGHTS
And finally, a video by Jack Black:
Music piracy, also known as copyright infringement, is defined as the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), there are two main types of piracy: physical piracy, which includes making illegal (“bootlegged”) copies of copyrighted material, and online piracy, which includes downloading illegal copies of copyrighted files, and is the more prevalent of the two. I will be discussing online piracy; what it is, who it affects, and why it needs to be stopped.
THE PROBLEM
Music piracy has become a huge hassle for the recording industry. The issue was first really brought to attention in the late 1990s with the rise of the peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing network, Napster (Borland). After its founding in June 1999 by 19-year-old Shawn Fanning, Napster blew up on the music scene as an easy way for people to (illegally) share and download music. Although music piracy had long existed before the coming of Napster, there had never really been an easy way for people to find music over the web. Napster was unique in its enabling of millions of people to open up their hard drives to others and allowing music to be downloaded with a simple search and click. Although Napster was shut down in 2001 by a Supreme Court ruling, other P2P applications have sprung up, including programs like Kazaa, Grokster, BitTorrent, FrostWire, and LimeWire.
PIRACY SUCKS
According to “The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy,” a study performed by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), global piracy of copyrighted music has set the United States economy back to the tune of $12.5 billion dollars, and has cost the country 71,060 jobs annually (Siwek). According to the 2007 study, American workers lose over $2.7 billion in earnings, and more than 26,000 jobs would have been created each year in the music industry had it not been for the advent of P2P network sharing and other forms of music piracy. In addition, the report estimated that the U.S. government loses at least $422 million each year in tax dollars that would have stemmed from legal digital music downloads and purchases of hard copies.
More of these staggering statistics can also be found on the RIAA’s website. According to the RIAA, increases in illegal downloads of music have caused a 31% decline in the overall global market decline from 2004 to 2010. In the decade since Fanning’s Napster emerged in 1999, music sales in the United States have dropped 47 %, from 14.6 billion to 7.7 billion. From 2004 to 2009, it has been estimated that over 30 billion songs were downloaded illegally, through either peer-to-peer sharing networks or usage of file-sharing websites such as thepiratebay.com. According to the National Purchase Diary (NPD) marketing group, only 37% of music acquired in 2009 was actually paid for by consumers. The other 63% was obtained without any revenue for either the music industry or the United States government. The association also cites songwriters, recording artists, audio engineers, computer technicians, talent scouts and marketing specialists, producers, and publishers as those being affected by people illegally downloading music (“RIAA”). These statistics show a clear correlation between increases in illegal downloads of music and declines in revenue in the music industry.
AND IT HURTS PEOPLE, TOO
When music is downloaded illegally, the recording industry loses out on revenue, which leads to less revenue for the artists who created the music, as well as less revenue for the government in the form of tax money. Music piracy also takes a big toll on many individuals within the recording industry, some of which aren’t commonly thought about. These include the enormous cast of industry players working behind the scenes, like songwriters, recording artists, audio engineers, computer technicians, talent scouts and marketing specialists, producers, publishers and many others. One study by the Institute for Policy Innovation estimates the annual cost at $12.5 billion dollars in losses to the U.S. economy as well as more than 70,000 lost jobs and $2 billion in lost wages to industry workers. Copyright infringement has, without a doubt, been facilitated by the development of sophisticated peer-to-peer network file-sharing.
LAST THOUGHTS
And finally, a video by Jack Black:
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Pros of Piracy
You may think that piracy is a terrible thing. This is true if you have only heard one side of the story, as most people have. Even several people that do admit to downloading music illegally feel some sort of remorse for doing so. In reality, they are actually helping out the artists by spreading their music. Couple that with the fact that piracy isn’t exactly stealing and piracy doesn’t seem as dark as it was portrayed while only hearing one side of the argument.
For the most part, people who download music illegally tend to share their musical discoveries with friends and colleagues. This is certainly true for me, as I am constantly trying to get my friends and roommates to listen to something that I found. This music sharing can turn into profits for the artists. Sharing leads to bigger exposure and the more people that are exposed to something, the greater the chance that the product will sell. Whether this product is a CD, record, a tshirt or even just some stickers, the artist will see an increase in sales if they are open to people pirating their work. A case to back this up is when Radiohead’s Kid A leaked a few months earlier onto the file sharing network Napster. When Kid A was finally released it reached number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart. This was odd considering Kid A was a change in sound for Radiohead, transitioning to a more experimental electronic sound whereas their latest album OK Computer followed their typical rocky Britpop sound. While Radiohead had already attracted a huge following of listeners by the release of Kid A it is doubtful that the album would have charted as well as it did without any sort of leak. There are a tons of bands that support piracy for this reason. Check out this interview below with Touché Amoré for their few on piracy. The bit is around the 7:45 mark.
A lot of people look down upon piracy because they see that it is the same as theft. Piracy is not theft. Piracy is piracy. In fact, when pirating something that is digital, nothing is stolen. Piracy makes a copy of the original. If something is copied, it is technically not stolen. This is the mindset of people that frequently pirate music. They feel that if something is intangible that it cannot be stolen. The picture below explains this set of ideals better.
Another reason why piracy is a good thing is because it is really the last form of rebellion in today's society. Most forms of past rebellion would surely land you in jail today, and if you avoid jail, you still have to deal with the kind of police force that the protestors of OWS are dealing with. It is especially important now to protest with the possible passing of the Stop Online Piracy Act. If this bill ends up being passed, the Internet as we know it will be radically different. This act alone would infringe on our rights to free speech, and there would be nothing we could do to stop it once it has passed. Take a look at this poster that several universities are passing around their campuses.
There is another side to every story. There are some positives about piracy, but there are also many negatives to it as well. I will let James discuss the negatives of piracy in his next post.
Thanks for reading,
-Zack
What is Piracy? by Bridgette
Piracy is a growing topic all over the US and other countries as well. One of the major forms of piracy includes music piracy. This can include illegally downloading songs for free, and it’s probably something that we all have been guilty of. Our group has been researching piracy, what exactly it is, what some of the pros and cons of piracy and has come up with a proposal of how to deal with the problem. We want to encourage everyone to become more informed about what piracy is and to see all sides of the issue.
Music piracy affects many groups of people including the consumer, artist, label, and other groups such as the RIAA. Consumers can often see more of a positive side to downloading music for free because obviously it would save them money. Yet often that can cause others in the music industry, such as the artist and label, to lose money. In the bigger picture piracy can have an effect on the economy. According to an online article from informationweek.com about the costs of music piracy, the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) released a report stating that U.S. workers lose $2.7 billion in earnings to music piracy. It also said the recording industry loses about $5.33 billion, while retailers lose about $1.04 billion, for a total direct loss of $6.37 billion. The U.S. government and its citizens lose $422 million in tax revenue, according to the report. That figure includes $291 million in personal income tax and $131 in corporate income and production taxes. Clearly, piracy is a topic that in one way or another affects many people. However, there are still tons of people out there that do not even know piracy is illegal and considered stealing. The graph below proves that the majority of consumers and downloaded music, probably that was illegal. The question is, would the majority of people download music had they known more about the issue?
There is an organization known as the IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide, with a membership comprising some 1400 record companies in 65 countries and affiliated industry associations in 44 countries. IFPI's mission is to promote the value of recorded music, safeguard the rights of record producers and expand the commercial uses of recorded music in all markets where its members operate. They want to make people aware of what piracy is defined as and are the different forms of piracy.
So what is piracy? According to ifpi.org, the term of piracy is generally used to describe the deliberate infringement of copyright on a commercial scale. In relation to the music industry it refers to unauthorized copying and, in this context, falls into four categories. These categories include physical music piracy, counterfeits, bootlegs, and Internet piracy.
Physical music piracy is the making or distribution of copies of sound recordings on physical carriers without the permission of the rights owner. The term "piracy" refers to activities that are of a commercial nature, including activities that cause commercial harm. The packaging of pirate copies may or may not be different from the original. Pirate copies are often compilations, such as the "greatest hits" of a specific artist, or a collection of a specific genre, such as dance tracks. Counterfeits are one type of physical piracy. These are recordings made without required permission, which are packaged to resemble the original as closely as possible. The original artwork is reproduced, as well as trademarks and logos in some cases, and is likely to mislead the consumer into believing that they are buying a genuine legitimate product. Bootlegs are the unauthorized recordings of live or broadcast performances. They are duplicated and sold, sometimes at a premium price, without the permission of the artist, composer or record company. Internet piracy is commonly used to refer to a variety of unauthorized uses of music or other creative content on the Internet. Internet piracy refers in particular to acts of infringements on the Internet that are of a commercial nature, not necessarily due to the motivation of the perpetrator. While some Internet pirates generate income from their activity, many people engage in such acts for other, non-commercial reasons and they all can cause enormous commercial damage (“What is Piracy?”).
Monday, December 5, 2011
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to our blog! This blog was set up to promote awareness among local bands, and consumers for issues regarding piracy in the media...especially in the Lexington area. We hope that these issues we bring to the table will educate you and help you to take a stance on the issue whether it be for or against piracy. Feel free to check for updates regarding concerts, news, cd sales in local stores, and plenty more. And don't worry, we cater to all genres of music and fans!
Also check our profile for 1 free download courtesy of Outletdown a local band out of the Lexington area!
Also check our profile for 1 free download courtesy of Outletdown a local band out of the Lexington area!
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