Music Piracy Essay examples -- mp3 music

Music Piracy: From the Pirates Perspective I don't wear a black patch over my eye. I don't have any missing limbs, replaced by a hook or a wooden leg that clicks when I walk. I have never owned a parrot; I don't have a cool name like Black Beard or Calico Jack; I don't even have a big, black hat. Though I lack all the defining characteristics, I am a pirate. My ship is a laptop computer and my booty is not measured by dollars and cents, but by precious kilobytes. With the aide of my spy glass, the KaZaa Media Desktop, I discern my next target. Wielding my trusty mouse, I make a few clicks, issue commands, board ship, and hijack the music recording industry, claiming yet another copyrighted song as my own. My zealous desire for music began in the early nineties. I got a little CD player when I was ten, but I didn't realize its true potential until a year later, in '92, when I purchased Nirvana’s Nevermind. Even though I was too young to understand lyrics like, â€Å"travel through a tube and end up in your infection,† I was forever changed by the power chords and distortion. Enlightened, I embarked on a journey to claim more of this newfound music for myself. Scratching together loose change, along with my meager allowance, I sought out CDs by Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, giving up everything I saved for these musical gems. As I grew older, my CD collection expanded along with my musical taste. My CD cases grew in capacity, from 12, to 36, to 75, finally reaching 200. By the time I graduated high school, I had amassed well over 300 CDs, ranging from classic rock to bluegrass to rap. At an average price of $15 apiece, that is over $4,500; more money than I spent on my last car. This collection devoured a majo... ...be forced to pay for the 13 other unlistenable tracks? Some bands are acknowledging this problem by making their songs available on their websites and releasing enhanced CDs with video clips and interactive elements. The recording industry is finally lowering CD prices after years of declining sales, but they are not addressing new technology. By providing legal means of music downloading, the industry could profit from website advertising and from the exposure their artists would receive; not to mention the money they would save in production costs. But they can't expect to attract consumers while they are suing their target audience. The recording industry needs to rethink its methods and many artists need to reconsider their attitudes concerning their music and their fans. Until then, like many others, I will continue to sail the wide open seas of music piracy.