How do we define stealing, anyway?
Stealing means to take something unlawfully. But when the discussion turns to downloading or using intellectual property without permission, including music, there seems to be a gray area. When someone produces art or entertainment, goods or services, they expect to be – and under normal circumstances are -- paid. But the world has changed.
Many people believe that downloading music, and other intellectual property, like books, movies and video games, without paying for them is acceptable. If they can find it on the Internet, it seems to be fair game.
This attitude was shared by several college students in northeast Indiana during a recent discussion. It seems that it’s the norm to download music free and without permission, and it’s seen as OK. The justification varied from not having the money to make the purchase, to indifference; it’s just the way it is.
“I don’t have a lot of money and I’m in college,” was one reply. “They (musicians) make enough money.”
But do they? Today, CD sales are still important, but numbers aren’t what they once were.
“The biggest thing is sales – if you look at how many records it takes to get into the Billboard chart now compared to even a few years ago, it is a lot less,” said Jenny Reader, director of worldwide publicity for Fearless Records. “Bands are still judged by their first week’s sales, but if a record leaks too far in advance of release this is massively impacted.”
While, there have been cases when a record is leaked and is still received so well by so many people that it sells anyway, she said, that is not true for the majority of bands. They are hit negatively by low sales because so many copies have already been illegally downloaded, Reader explained.
And because stealing does affect the revenue a band receives from record sales, there are repercussions. Record sales are everything to a band’s progression, said Shawn Milke, singer for Alesana.
“Getting on bigger and better tours, more marketing money, more exposure, and larger retail purchases are all examples of achievements that rest solely on the state of a band’s record sales,” Milke explained, adding, “This is an issue I am very sensitive about. I believe that illegal downloading is the biggest epidemic in all of entertainment.
“What makes it worse is that the majority of people who do illegally download music, movies, books, and all other forms of intellectual property, feel as if they are doing nothing wrong.”
There are options for those who don’t want to purchase CDs without downloading music illegally. Many bands share their music with fans, but on their terms and not an entire album. Bands provide easy ways for people to access and learn their music through sites like MySpace music.
“There is no reason that a person cannot determine whether or not they like a band based on of the four, five, sometimes even six songs that are provided by the bands themselves on their networking sites,” Milke said.
So, why steal the music?
People and groups have been prosecuted for stealing music under copyright laws, including the law passed by former President George W. Bush in October 2008 that stiffened the penalties for music and movie piracy at the federal level. The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act increased statutory damage awards in civil counterfeiting cases, strengthened remedies available for prosecution of criminal cases and enhanced resources for the Department of Justice programs that fight against intellectual piracy theft.
Even with prosecutions and civil suits that have favored artists and recording companies, the piracy continues. The federal government estimates that counterfeiting costs hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
Asking Alexandria is one of those bands hit by illegal downloads. The band’s first CD debuted in September, but the world had already heard the music. The CD was leaked before its release date and people were already downloading its songs, said guitarist Ben Bruce.
“It’s hard, with people illegally downloading music and it’s a real shame,” he said. “The Internet is a great thing, but there are consequences.”
By illegally downloading the music, instead of purchasing CDs, fans miss the additional features that come with a CD, including the cover art, Bruce added.
And it’s not only new bands hurt by the stealing of music. U2 made the news in recent years, not only for the piracy that impacted the release of one of its albums, but also because Manager Paul McGuinness’ vocal outcry against music piracy.
And while some may say it’s not a big deal that a band loses a few dollars from a CD sale, the fall out sometimes results in the ultimate cost for a band. Milke said bands break up because of low record sales and are even dropped by management because their record sales were not at the level expected – all the direct result of illegal downloading.
“Possessing music created by someone else is not a right, it is a privilege,” Alesana’s Milke said. “Illegally downloading a record is exactly the same thing as walking into a Best Buy store and stealing the record from the shelf.”
Other Options
To make up for the lost revenue, bands are finding other ways to continue their artistic endeavors. Tours top that list and bands find themselves staying on the road more and more, even playing smaller or self-booked tours.
Asking Alexandria band members understand this; it’s the world in which they live. The UK band goes from one tour to the next, trying to make a living in the world of rock and roll, without the luxury of counting on the same type of record sales as bands in the past have done.
“We might get a week off between tours, and then we start a new tour,” Bruce said. “That makes it difficult to do anything, including writing new music.”
The band works on songs from its RV as the group travels, but writing on the road is difficult, Bruce said. The band is taking a month-long break in January to recuperate and to do some more writing before hitting the tour road again.
And bands aren’t the only ones impacted by music piracy. The record companies who sign the bands also are feeling the effects. Fearless Records, a 15-year-old company that came into the business when the Internet was beginning to become a daily part of people’s lives, has an edge because it doesn’t think under the old business model, according to Reader.
But while Fearless Records has been able to thrive in an industry on the decline, illegal downloading still has its impact. The company has evolved other revenue-producing options, including merchandising and touring. “It's (illegal downloading) basically changed the way the industry has to think, and goes hand in hand with the way people are now discovering and consuming music,” she said.
Another thing Fearless is doing is carefully choosing who gets pre-release copies of records, using only trusted sources on secure album streams. This has resulted in a drop in leaks, Reader said. However, the adverse effect of this practice is less press for the new music, since the media still need the music to write about it.
Fearless also has priced albums “reasonable” to give consumers an incentive to buy.
Trying to win the battle isn’t the answer, since there seems to be no fear of the laws. Instead, adapting has become the norm for companies and artists, Reader said.
“People will always want music. And, although the way bands make records is already changing to evolve with the new ways of listening and purchasing music – reliance on tracks and singles rather than full albums – the only way to thrive in this climate is to be highly tuned to what our audience wants and needs,” Reader said.
While some fans will always want something tangible, the physical product and packaging to hold and have in their collection, Fearless has found that by keeping its bands on the road, connecting with their fans, it is proving to be one of the labels actually thriving in these harder times. “By keeping close to the ground and adapting to change fast, with creative ideas and passion for our bands and the music, it is possible to not stop the tide, but ride with it to some level of success,” Reader said.
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