To Steal, or Not to Steal. That is the Question...

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Most people admit to downloading illegally. Who wouldn’t, right? I mean, it’s cheap or doesn’t cost a cent, its fast; you can share it with others in a split second… However, when it comes to my absolute favourite artists, I can’t help but purchase all of their merchandise, including posters, magazines, t-shirts, even CD’s. I love to think that I am contributing to their sales. When I purchase their soundtrack instead of downloading, I feel like I am being a true supporter of the band. I know that my money will help my favourite artists in funding for more merchandise, allow them to have money for touring. But most of all, so they can make a living like every other person. Just like in Martin and Salter’s (2010) article, we come to make a point that the music industry is ‘losing a lot of money due to file-sharing’ Martin and Salter 2010, p.1). Reading this, I completely understand and agree. I don’t know how people don’t have any guilt when downloading it has become second nature to just go on the internet and find the best download for a song. Forget about iTunes purchases, CD’s are stacked to the brim on the shelves, and CD shops are closing down. All of these points closely relate to Martin and Salter’s (2010) interpretation struggles. Interpretation struggles also questions whether the industry is even needed anymore. Since more and more people turn to downloading is it even worth having the industry involved? By the industry arguing against file-sharing, it may help people realise that there are many alternatives and the industry will lose business. In Hinduja’s (2005), an argument was pointed out that ‘the music industry has held and unfair monopoly over the music market and has maintained an inflated price for CD’s’ (Hinduja 2010, p.18). No wonder why people won’t buy their music anymore. Wen you can get it for free, why pay money for it? No matter how many illegal downloading sites are shut down, there are plenty ore out there which are still causing damage to the music industry. Even still, more are possibly being created as I type.   

Martin, B, Moore, C and Salter, C. 2010, ‘Sharing music files: tactics of a challenge to the industry’, First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12

Sameer, H 2005, ‘Music Piracy and Crime Theory’, LFB Scholarly Pub. LLC, New York

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