Theft at the Speed of Sound

Musical piracy, a type of copyright infringement, has become one of the most common laws broken in America and across the globe. In the last 20 years, digital piracy in general has become as common a crime in society as speeding or illegal drug use, making it one of the fastest growing crimes in modern history. Statistically, it is estimated that illegal downloading sites are accessed 146 million times a day worldwide, resulting in a 12.5 billion dollar economic loss to the music industry each year (Go-Gulf, 2011). To compare, the total amount of loss due to shoplifting in the U.S. yearly is 13 billion. (NASP, 2011)

Reasoning Behind the Growing Trend

Piracy is a crime of access. Anyone with a computing device can access the Internet in their own homes as a paid service, or for free at WiFi Hotspots across the country. With little knowledge of the Internet, one can easily find websites that host thousands upon thousands of instances of copyrighted data. The sheer amount of hosted media attracts a large number of people to these sites, which makes it very hard for law enforcement and content distributors to police these web sites and the individuals accessing them. Also, tools that hide where these web sites are hosted and the identities of those accessing them make this task even more difficult.

There is a large amount of people who don’t believe that copyright infringement should be law, and an even larger group of people don’t agree with the disproportionate penalties for people found breaking the law. These reasons, coupled with the fact that it is a fairly easy law to break, are what help make copyright infringement such a common crime.

The way digital content is released to customers can also be to blame for its own theft. Many feel that the release price of media, especially music, can be too high. Many feel if they went to see an artist’s concert and grossly overpaid for the show, then they should be entitled to owning the artist’s record. Some feel artists, actors and the entertainment industry makes too much money as it is, and justify their actions as such. Releasing media in many different formats for cash also lead to digital theft. If I pay for the streaming service, why can’t I have my own copy of the album?

In the case of the music industry, even the opposite argument holds true. Artists are paid pennies on the dollar for a CD sale. In fact, it may take upwards of 4000 CD sales in a month for an artist to make minimum wage off of the sales. This number varies depending on the Artist’s recording contract, with top grossing artists needing about 2000 sales for the same outcome(Bejarano, 2011). Artist’s make considerably less through streaming services such as Spotify or Rhapsody, needing anywhere between 1 million and 4 million plays in a month for an Artist to make minimum wage off of the streaming services(Bejarano, 2011). Many argue, why pay at all if the original creator of the content isn’t the one getting paid a majority of the funds?

The True Cost

While statistics show a 12.5 billion dollar loss for the music industry, the numbers may not be entirely accurate. The numbers do not include returns on lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America and any other revenue source they would receive directly for being an anti-piracy agency. The agency has received some large settlements in their favor, such as a 105 million dollar settlement against peer-to-peer software Limewire(RIAA,2011). The RIAA also files lawsuits against people caught sharing or downloading files on the Internet, usually using the user’s IP address against them in court.

A statistic that cannot be accounted for that has a huge impact on profit losses or gains would be the use of the download. Many believe that if they buy a digital hard copy of media such as a CD or a movie, they are allowed to have a backup digital copy as well. It is easier to download any type of media from the Internet rather than create your own backup for yourself. Often times the downloading of a CD, movie, or software results in future purchases from the customer if they like the material. If someone downloads an album and likes the artist, the connection can lead to merchandise sales, concert ticket sales, and even a purchase of the original album they downloaded. Testing out a product to see if you want to buy it purposes cannot be statistically accounted for.

But is it a Crime?

According to the Federal government and the RIAA, yes. Not only is it a federal crime, it is punishable by up to 5 years in prison or $250,000 in fines(RIAA, 2015). According to the RIAA, whether not you “expect something in return, even if it just involves swapping your files for someone else’s, as in MP3 trading, you can be sentenced to as much as five years in prison.”(RIAA, 2015). If this sounds harsh to you, take some solace that some judges out there agree with you as well. Many times the RIAA will settle out of court for substantially less in fines, but be aware that there are those out there being sued for substantial amounts of money and are also receiving a substantial amount of headache as well.

Take Jammie Thomas, for example. After declining to settle out of court for $5,000, she was taken to trial and found guilty of downloading 24 songs. The court ordered she pay $222,000 in restitution. After a mistrial, she was given another settlement attempt by the RIAA, this time at $25,000, five times the first amount. She once again declined, and once again lost the trial, now being ordered by jury to pay $1,920,000 in damages, with that sum being reduced down to $54,000 by the court. The record company, not liking the reduced amount, decided to go to court again for damages. Once again they won, with the jury this time awarding $1.5 million in restitution, but this amount was once again reduced by the court to $54,000. The record company once again appealed, and with the case appearing in front of the Supreme Court, Jammie Thomas was ordered to pay the original amount she was being sued for in $222,000, or $9200 a song(Sandoval, 2012).

If you were to ask those that make up the 146 million people accessing illegal downloading sites daily, they may have a slightly different opinion on who is committing the real crime in this crazy web of litigation.

Works Cited:

Go-Gulf, . (2011, November 1). Web Design Company — Dubai Website Design and Web Application Development Company. Online Piracy in Numbers — Facts and Statistics [Infographic]. Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-piracy/

National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, . (2011, January 23). NJ Shoplifting Charges Attorney, Freehold. US Shoplifting Statistics, How many people shoplift each year?. Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.njshopliftingdefenselawyer.com/shoplifting-statistics/shoplifting-statistics-in-the-united-states.html

Bejarano, J. (2011, November 8). First Class Alliance. How much revenue do artist really earn through traditional/non-traditional retail outlets? | First Class Alliance. Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://firstclassalliance.com/how-much-revenue-do-artist-really-earn-through-traditionalnon-traditional-retail-outlets.html

RIAA, . (2011, May 12). RIAA — Home — January 24, 2015. RIAA — LimeWire and Major Record Labels Reach Settlement — January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?content_selector=newsandviews&news_month_filter=5&id=0750A00C-192B-0171-1D91-1E69DC416522

Sandoval, G. (2012, September 11). Product reviews and prices, software downloads, and tech news — CNET. Appeals court sides with RIAA, Jammie Thomas owes $222,000 — CNET. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://www.cnet.com/news/appeals-court-sides-with-riaa-jammie-thomas-owes-222000/#!