Downloading and sharing music online has become extremely popular due to companies such as Napster (Bradley, 2006). Due to Napster and their model of music sharing, downloading and sharing music and media content is now as simple as ever. The recording industry however has deemed the sharing of music as piracy and have struggled with how to deal with this form of piracy. Guiding question number 2 asks what suggestions would I make to the music industry with regards to how to deal with this type of piracy and I would suggest they just give up. The reality is, its impossible to monitor the sharing of online music. The other day I was watching the news program The National and they were discussing the cost it would take to go after these online producers and distributors of music. They estimated it would cost over 4million dollars to acquire about $45000 worth of fees. The numbers are not worth it for the music industry and the online distribution of music is almost impossible to monitor.
Another suggestion for the music industry is to rethink their definition of piracy. As (Steinmetz and Tunnell 2013) state, the idea of file sharing or downloading intellectual property has been termed as piracy by the recording industry. Online music sharing is similar to sharing photos online. In the technological age we live in, once its on the internet, its there for ever and can be used by anyone for any purpose. Therefore by labeling online music sharing as piracy the music industry is creating a problem that can never be reversed.
The media industry is so strong and powerful it will survive any technological interference with their profit. There was worry when the VHS came out and similarly with the CD but the music industry continued to thrive and is just as strong as its ever been.