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THE COOL SONGS IT WAS NEVER COOL TO LIKE

File sharing - Is suing really the answer?

In October, the BPI (the UK’s music industry regulatory body) announced its decision to sue 28 major file sharers who had been illegally uploading copyright music on to peer to peer sites such as Kazaa and WinMix to make it available for free downloading. The BPI is following the steps of its American counterpart, the RIAA, which has sued more than 5000 file sharers since April 2003, according to Q magazine.

The BPI’s chairman Peter Jamieson justified the legal action against file sharers in the NME saying: “These are not people casually downloading the odd track. They are uploading music on a massive scale, effectively stealing the livelihoods of thousands of artists and the people who invest in them”.

The BPI certainly has a point in wanting to protect the rights of its members but up to what extent is the legal course of action really effective and beneficial for the music industry? Is suing really the answer to illegal downloading?

History teaches us that illegal distribution of music has always been the thorn in the side of the music industry, first with recorded tapes, then with burnt CDs and now with free downloading of music from the Internet. Tapes and CDs could easily be distributed from peer to peer free of charge thanks to recording devices installed in PCs or stereos or even sold at very reduced rates on market stalls.

While this type of music swapping/purchase is harder to track down since it is carried out on a large scale but more furtively, the advent of the Internet has made music swapping more openly available to both downloaders and to those intentioned to stop it. Moreover, the nature of the world wide web itself has pushed the boundaries of such activity to larger scales.

Illegal downloading might be damaging music sales and suing file sharers will reduce the problem but it will not manage to eradicate it, since kids will continue trying to find new ways to get hold of free music.

The music industry should not just stop at analysing sales figures but it should try to investigate the cause of the problem and how the availability of illegal music could still play an important role in increasing music awareness and figures.

Who has ever been curious about a band but not daring enough to pay 14 pounds to buy their CD? Sometimes we are attracted by the sound of a song but we’d rather record it from the radio or from a friend’s CD than spend £4 on a single or an extortionate price for an album that might reveal itself not up to expectations.

The real issue which prevents kids from going to Virgin and HMV to buy piles of CDs on a Monday is the high price that both retailers and record companies place on music. £13.99 for new album releases or £4 for a single are high prices that not everybody is prepared to pay and this forces music lovers to find alternative ways to get hold of their favourite songs. The price of CDs has decreased in the past two or three years but not enough to pose a challenge to websites that do not pay royalties to UK record companies and that provide cheap or free music to download. ITunes offers album downloads for 8 pounds but it will be hard to access this service unless you are able to download the necessary software or you have an Apple Mac computer.

Being able to listen to and to get hold of music free of charge will enhance the possibilities of getting to know new music and of providing more exposure for both new and established acts. This will eventually lead to kids going to concerts and trying to discover more about certain artists or a music genre by buying back catalogues or music of similar artists.

Free downloading should be regarded as a present and future trampoline for discovering new music that might as well lead to investing money in the legal purchase of music material. Some of the artists that have been questioned on the subject do not seem to be opposed to illegal downloading.

Gary Lightbody, frontman of Snow Patrol told the NME : “No, not really (Do you mind if people illegally download your album for free?). As long as people come to gigs. I am sure our record company will love us saying this. But to be honest, it’s never been an issue with me…. We have always wanted people simply to be able to get our music and it’s never mattered whether people have bought it.”

The music industry should try to create a united music front rather than an alienated one. The end, stopping the fall in music sales, in this case does not justify the legal course of action and the interns should try to be foxes rather than lions and exploit the benefits of free music so that everyone will be happy and money will be saved….Yeah, the legal costs.

Elisabetta P.