KliteMaster

[I am a net Pirate]

The industry has got it all wrong and should not be trying to crack down on those who download music from the internet.
I have been downloading music from online services such as Kazaa for the last couple of years.

I probably have about 50 CDs worth of music on my PC's hard drive and about five actual CDs onto which I have copied some of my favourite tracks.

I'm a casual music pirate, not the hard-bitten downloader that the music industry is trying to track down and I'm not worried about the FBI, or whoever, knocking on my door to hand me a writ.

I know what I am doing is illegal, but I feel it is no more illegal or threatening to the music industry, than my videotaping of programmes from TV is threatening to broadcasters.

What happens if I hear a song on the radio and I want to own that one song?

There is clearly a distinction between casual music piracy and the industrial-like piracy some users carry out, downloading thousands of songs, copying them onto CDs and offering them to friends.

The record industry has a valuable product to protect and is right to do so, but it wilfully fails to accept that the vast majority of people who download songs from the internet do so without paying for it because there is no legitimate and convincing alternative.

For the last 10 years the music industry has resolutely refused to accept that technology and music lovers have changed and instead is clinging on to a view of the world forever stuck in 1993.

In 1993, the CD was the undisputed king of the music market, the teenager was the hallowed consumer to be courted and chased while the internet and mp3s were the preserve of a few geeks.

The music industry still wants us to buy glossy CD albums with gatefold sleeves from record shops and does not care if we like tracks one to five but hate tracks six to 11.

It wants us to buy CD singles, even though we are paying for a high price for one song with a few dodgy "b-sides" and poor packaging adding to the cost.

The music industry is afraid of losing control; it is afraid of giving too much choice to consumers

The industry wants to create a handful of global superstars and foist them a global teen audience but is not interested in anyone over 30 years old.

But what happens if I hear a song on the radio and I want to own that one song?

Let's say the song is five years old and was never a chart hit and my local record store does not have a copy, or even an album on which it appeared.

The music industry makes it virtually impossible for me to buy that one song, although it is more than happy to charge me £15 for a Beatles album released more than 30 years ago.

The technology to let me buy one song from the internet has been around for the last 10 years but still the record industry is dragging its feet.

Until the music industry realises that it has to cede some control we will continue to use sites like Kazaa

Back catalogues of millions of songs remain under lock and key in dusty archives rather than being offered as potentially lucrative choices to music lovers.

And why? Because the music industry is afraid of losing control; it is afraid of giving too much choice to consumers; it is afraid that it won't be able to dictate what, how and when we listen to music.

Issues of copyright and performing rights and digital rights management could and should have been sorted many, many years ago.

The advent of the internet age has given music lovers more freedom to listen to what we want, when we want and how we want.

More than 50 years of paying for music shows that consumers are willing to hand over money but until the music industry realises that it has to cede some control we will continue to use sites like Kazaa.

K+++ Master

[Srrh]

Personally, I find this MP3 thing highly immoral...

OK, who wants a copy of The Hulk ?
;D

S.

[Ruby2]

LOL I love it!!!!! I got 22 episodes of Buffy season 7, long before they are aired on tv here!

Of course, err, I didn't really, that was a joke!

[Srrh]

I hear you Ruby...

I would never ever....

Bowling for Columbine, Animatrix, Matrix Reloaded, 28 days, Xmen2, 2 seasons of six feet under, Anger Management, ALi G, 21 south park, 3rd season of Oz, Finding Nemo, Cannibal the musical, Fulci's Zombie, House of a 1000 corps, Dreamcatcher, LOTR II.

Last 30 days.

Of course it was just an experience. I earased it as soon as I got it. Never watched it. Never shared it. I think mass shit needs more of my cash.

I got The Hulk 3 days BEFORE it's release...how dumb is that ?

S.

LOTRII and Bowling for Columbine, I will buy...it's just not out yet...The rest either does not exist here (Canibal the musical, ali G) or is just plain crap (dreamcatcher) which I will not even rent...

Kazaa and Shamu: the two leggs on which my internet stands!!

[Srrh]

I'm completely new to this - what does digital downloading mean?

By using your computer and an internet connection you can download songs, albums, video clips and even films on to your PC to watch and listen to again and again.

Sounds good. Do I need a special computer or will my old PC suffice?

Put simply - the more powerful computer you have, the better and it really helps to have a fast internet connection because music and video files can be very large.

How long does it take to download a song, or an album or a film?

If you have a 56K modem, and most people use this type of connection to the internet, it can take up to 30 minutes to download a single song and many, many hours for an album. Don't even bother trying to download a film.

If you have broadband connection, then a song can be downloaded in seconds and an entire film in minutes. But it all depends on the speed of the computer at the other end of the phone line.

Other computer? Now, I'm lost - where does the song or film actually come from?

That all depends. If you are using a music industry-backed, online service, such as Pressplay or MusicNet, then the songs, stored as MP3 files, are sent to you from a central computer.

But if you are using an unofficial service, such as Kazaa or Morpheus, then you are downloading the song or film from another user. It's called peer-to-peer and essentially a service like Kazaa puts your computer in touch with another user's PC and you are exchanging files over the internet directly.

Unofficial services? Can I get into trouble for doing this?

If you use a legal service, of course you won't be in trouble. But you have to pay for the privilege.

But services such as Kazaa are free and you will be using music and films which are copyrighted works without permission and that is against the law. Film and record companies don't want you to listen to music or watch films without paying for it first, of course.

But it is very difficult at the moment to prevent peer-to-peer services from operating and even harder to track down individuals who are downloading files without paying for them.

Recently, US record companies have reportedly started to clog up the unofficial services by registering dummy songs. You think you are downloading the latest Britney Spears song, for example, but in reality it is just noise.

They hope to infuriate those downloading without paying and force them to use the legal services.

You said something about MP3 files - I've heard about these, but what are they?

An MP3 file is just a way of storing information digitally - in this case audio files. The clever thing about them is that they can store more information, in this case music, in a smaller size making it easier and faster to download.

But don't get confused - an MP3 file is just a piece of music or audio.

You've probably heard of MP3 players. These are just Walkman-style devices which allow you to transfer the files from your PC on to the device and listen to them away from your computer.

Is the quality of an MP3 file as good as the sound on a CD?

Depends. Songs can be stored as a MP3 file in different sizes. The bigger the size, the better the quality, but the longer it will take to download.

MP3 files recorded at about 196 kilobits per second are equal to CD quality. An entire album recorded at this quality will take up about 86 megabytes of space.

How do I turn music into an MP3 file?

Programs such as Windows Media Player, on PCs, and iTunes, on Apples will convert music CDs into MP3 files easily and quickly.

They will also do it vice versa so that MP3 files you have downloaded can be turned back into normal sound files and then recorded on to CDs that you can play on any CD player.

Some CD players, including most DVD players, will also play CDs that have MP3 files stored on them.

The advantage here is that you can store more MP3 files onto a CD than normal songs because they are smaller in size.

If I want to pay for digital downloads, how much does it cost?

It varies. A good rule of thumb is that £1 will get you one burn, or 50 downloads or up to 500 streams. Although initially the range of artists on services such as Pressplay were limited, now there is a huge array available.

Of course, unofficial services have as many songs available as the users have stored on their computers.

Wait a minute - burn, download and stream? I'm lost again.

Pay attention - a download is a song that is stored on your computer's hard drive but can only be listened to via your PC.

A stream is a bit like a radio station - the music plays via your PC but is not recorded anywhere. Audio and video clips on BBC News Online are streamed to your PC.

A burn is a song that you have downloaded and can be copied on to a CD by using a CD copier or burner.

Why are record companies so concerned about downloading music files?

Because they are worried that people are downloading songs for free and that they are losing revenue. Services such as Napster blazed a trail for online music and it is only recently that official services have begun to catch up.

Okay, I can download songs and albums legally. But what about movies?

Film studios are slowly beginning to offer movies on demand from the internet. The range of films is really limited - often older, less successful films are available. But this is changing.

Warner Bros recently announced that the Harry Potter movies will be streamed on the internet. The important word here is "streamed". You can watch it but not store it on your hard drive or burn it on to a DVD.

Film studios are increasingly worried that they will be hit in the same way as record companies - people will download films without paying and then copy them on to DVDs.

Record companies and film studios are battling to stop free, illegal downloads so will we all be forced to pay in the future?

The problem for the companies is that the technically minded will always find a way to bypass their security arrangements. They just hope the rest of us will be happy to pay.

Of course, it is worth stressing that downloading copyrighted music or films without paying the appropriate copyright holder is illegal.

[Srrh]

I have downloaded music over the internet. Have I broken the law?

Not if you have downloaded the songs from one of the many sanctioned sites, which include retailers such as HMV and Virgin and OD2. These sites pay royalties to labels and artists.

If you download songs from a site that is not sanctioned - whether it is one song or a million - you are infringing copyright and breaking the law.


Could I be sued for swapping a few songs?

Theoretically, you could. But the RIAA says it is suing file swappers who have consistently trade large amounts.

It recently took action against a college student in Michigan who ran a network offering more than 650,000 files - the equivalent of more than 43,000 albums. They have chased other users who have again uploaded thousands of files.


Can children be sued for uploading or downloading songs?

The RIAA says it could prosecute anyone, including children.

Why are record companies so worried?

Global music sales are falling, with sales down by 13% in the UK alone in the first quarter of this year.

The music industry, which has suffered massive redundancies and restructuring in the last decade, says the swapping of music files over the internet is one of the major parts of music piracy. It has sued online song-swapping services like Napster and Kazaa.


I live in the UK, but US computer users will be able to access the songs I share on file-swapping networks. Will the RIAA sue me?

No. The RIAA's UK equivalent, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), says this is a US action that is affecting only music downloaders in the US because international laws are different. The RIAA cannot take action against people outside the US.

Is the BPI planning to sue UK users?

It has said it will not rule out suing individual users, but that it would be a "last resort". The BPI says it is currently trying to educate people - including sending out leaflets to colleges and large business - to tell people where they can download music legally.

It also says using peer-to-peer services risks downloading viruses. But if the RIAA's actions are successful, a similar system could be on the cards for the UK.


Why is the RIAA chasing individual users?

The music industry has had mixed fortunes in its court actions against the companies that support file-swapping on the internet. Some have been successful - like the action which forced Napster to close - and some have not.

Last month a US judge ruled that two file-swapping networks, Grokster and Morpheus, were not responsible for what was traded on their systems.

However, the RIAA was successful in getting telecommunications giant Verizon to hand over details of customers who swap files. This has allowed them to begin the process of gathering evidence against individuals.

Are other music industry groups going to take similar action?

Four countries in Europe have already taken action - Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy, says the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). German police impounded computer equipment in April in the town of Furth that had been used to upload up to one million files. In Italy at least 75 actions have been taken.


Will legitimate online services ever rival the peer-to-peer sites?

The launch of the Apple system iTunes, where US users can choose from 200,000 songs at 99 cents a song has been a huge success, with more than five million songs downloaded in the first month. The system will be launched in Europe later this year. Microsoft are also in discussion with Universal, the world's biggest music group, about a similar system.

[Ruby2]

Yeah, and I guess thats the thing - If I watch a film on the web and I really like it, I am sure to go out and buy it. The quality is just not good enough from a d/load to make me stop doing that, and I like owning lots of films.

However, music is a different kettle of fish - If I'm able to d/load free music off the web, and then I can burn it onto CD, I don't see the point in going out and spending way too much money on it at the shops.

LOL of course, I can see how this would be a big problem for the music biz, but if CD's were cheaper, then maybe not so many of us would do it!

[Wycco]

Ruby2 said:

, but if CD's were cheaper, then maybe not so many of us would do it!

If people paid for music, rather than taking it for free online- CDs probably WOULD go back down in price.

Anyone who doesn't think music piracy is making a big impact on the entertainment industry should look at how many different MP3 players there are- and how many people have them.

Industries with high theft have higher markups on prices... Remember the poll tax in England? When so many people refused to pay- they increased the poll tax on EVERYBODY THAT DID.

By controling online piracy, it lowers the price for people who are following the law.

[Ruby2]

But thats just it Wycco - it was this price before! The music Biz has always been a rip-off, and they are reaping what they have sown.

Prices NEVER come down on music, they only go up.

Some shops here do have some very good deals on music admittedly, but my problem nowadays is, I do not want to buy a whole album, when I may only like 2 or 3 of the songs on it.

I'm past the days when I want to own every single album or song a fave band has ever made, you see!

[Srrh]

Wycco said:

If people paid for music, rather than taking it for free online- CDs probably WOULD go back down in price.

Yea, right. And If my aunt had any, she'd be my uncle !!

Price have not changed since the beggining of the 90s when a CD was around 15$.

I am VERY close to the producer of one of the world's best selling artist who works for Sony. It is in fact sony's biggest seller.
Cost of production of a CD (with casing and booklet) 60 cents (US).
Royalty to an artist 12 cents-1.5 $

Were is the rest of my 13$ going ?

I've bought enough albums for 5 lifetimes...I will buy music again when the prices are no higher then 5 bucks/12 songs.

S.

[Srrh]

Srrh said:

I am VERY close to...

Just to make things clear, I mean "familly" close...like invited to the kids first communion close...no BS here...

And they have no problem admiting (in private) that the reccord industry is highway robbery...numbers at hand!!!

S

[Srrh]

Ruby2 said:

I'm past the days when I want to own every single album or song a fave band has ever made, you see!

What's more n'synch didn't make any albums lately !!


S

[Wycco]

In '93 a CD cost would about $14.99... but they cost a manufacturer several dollars to produce.

Inflation has been negligable in the US over the last decade.

A CD now only costs about 25 cents to create- but the cost of CD's are now- $17.99 or sometimes, $18.99 for many new releases.

[Mo]

Actually a blank cd cost a few p in the uk... Recordable facilities are just as cheap as in Russia...

[Ruby2]

Srrh said:

What's more n'synch didn't make any albums lately !!


S

LMAO!!! As if! No, I was talking about my distant past, and thinking of bands such as Human league, China Crisis, Orchestral manoeuvres in the Dark, Heaven 17 and such like! Or, going back even further, the Bay City Rollers, but please don't mention that to anyone, its a secret!