MP3 technology, short for MPEG-1 Layer 3, first appeared on the Internet in the late 1990’s, and as time passed users could retrieve the musical works of artists or groups by accessing a website or file-sharing utility. This not only gave exposure to these musicians, but it also gave smaller, less known artists chances at exposure. Mp3.com began some years later, a website initiated for the soul purpose of allowing local musicians with recorded albums or demos to publish their works to the mainstream Internet, and gained much popularity as MP3 became more eminent. Then MP3s became a national sensation with the release of Napster, a program that allowed users to trade songs with other users across an Internet network. A political storm approached as more and more MP3 users collected songs on their computers and purportedly stopped buying albums. Somewhat of a bad mark has been put on the “MP3” name by the government and recording industry because of the negative implication it has had in the last decade. Two federal laws have been the center of debate in conjunction with online music. The first, a 1976 revision of the Copyright Act, made duplication of any copyrighted materials legal for educational purposes and non-commercial intent (Jost 773). The second law is the 1992 law, or the Audio Home Recording Act, which legalized duplication of audiotapes for back-up purposes (Jost 774). MP3 advocates believe that these laws support their cause, stating that any copying of copyrighted material (compact discs included) is legal as long as no profit is made from such actions. Yet those who support anti-MP3 laws say that the duplication of CDs and downloading of MP3s reduces the value of the works, thus violating copyright laws. It is difficult to say who is right in this argument, but looking at recent sales statistics may disprove one side of the argument. Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA) President Cary Sherman made the statement that “online piracy was the main cause of a seven percent dip in CD shipments this year,” but refuses to release their full study results (Music 1). The RIAA also released a study that told of a six percent increase in sales of full-length audio CDs in the United States and almost a ten percent rise in the value of CDs sold in 2000 (Alderman 152).
We have all watched over the last year and a half as the controversy over the digital music provider Napster has clogged our television screens and lined our floors in the forms of newspaper articles. We are also well aware of the implications and revenue losses that the service either directly or indirectly causes. What I am going to investigate more in-depth in this article is, more specifically, the effect that Napster has on the operations of record stores worldwide. I am going to try to describe the most profound effects that Napster has on this industry.
One of the newest, most exciting and innovative ways to get music these days is not in the mall and not at a huge mega-sized electronic store, it's not even by a mail order CD club. It’s the computer. It sits conveniently on a desk and now allows access to every imaginable genre of music, twenty-four hours a day, rain or shine, snow or sleet, in the comfort of your own home. Technology is changing the way we listen to music. Now downloading a Mp3 from the Internet is a lot easier than going to the store and buying an overpriced CD. A near CD quality digital recording of music, Mp3s are digital computer files compressed to make them readily available over the Internet. It seems the high prices, new technology, and availability are causing most music lovers to turn to this new form of music media to combat their expensive addiction to compact discs. It has become so simple to search out and download music that more and more people are finding it favorable to just copy their music to a recordable CD (CD-R). That would mean people could, from their own home, create illegal copies of the copyrighted material at or near industrial compact disc quality. Further adding to consumer accessibility, manufacturers now produce portable MP3 players , so now the need to buy CD-R’s is eliminated and you can just...
The music industry has had problems with computer piracy for many years now. There have been many programs devoted to giving out free music. Many of these programs are well know, but still very hard to stop. Napster, Kazaa, and the newest program, myTunes Redux are the most popular programs for music sharing. This essay will explain all about these main programs which allow free music to be shared all over the world.
Recently, there has been a series of copyright infringement litigations against Internet businesses that are involved with unauthorized distribution of music files. The US recording industry claims to lose three million dollars per year because of piracy. A report predicted an estimated 16 percent of all US music sales, or 985 million dollars would be lost due to online piracy by 2002 (Foege, 2000; cited from McCourt & Burkart, 2003) Even though this claim has to be taken with caution, as it is based on false assumption that if copyright laws were strictly enforced, audio pirates would become buyers, it is apparent that audio piracy grew to a worrisome level for the record industry. (Gayer & Shy, 2003)
By fall 2000, there were 80 million users for Napster, and according to survey that was conducted on Napster users, there was an increase of 9% in music fans spending, among more experienced users there was an increase of 20% in their music spending, in addition to an increase of 19% among those using high speed connection. Napster and other free file sharing had caused the record sales to suffer. However, the file sharing services altered the conventional way of lessening to music for consumers. In 2001, 50% of U.S. households owned PCs; consumers spent $1.6 billion on CD burner, blank CDs and digital-audio players. 54% of PCs sales came with CD burners. More than 26% of online music users were ...
Before the 1990’s, if people want to listen to music, they just visit a music store and pick up a CD and then put it into a stereo equipment. However, the development of MP3 file format gradually changed the way people listen to music. This format lets everyone download music easily and it can be converted to CD as well. But, there is still a problem: searching MP3 files on the internet is maddening and people seldom can find the music they want. Therefore, the birth of Napster solved this problem, creating a virtual music community in which music fans could use the Web as a “swap meet” for music files. More importantly, Napster is easy to use and it’s free, which expands the range of audience in age. Bandwidth also contributed to Napster’s success. The greater the bandwidth, the faster the file can be transferred. So, Napster really changed the way people listen to music, discover music and interact with music.
The Internet is now being used in many exciting and interesting ways. The music industry, however, has come to feel that it may be being abused. There are countless web sites offering information on how to obtain contemporary music, with and without permission from the creators. Using a fairly expensive recording device, such as Diamond Multimedia's Rio portable MP3 music player, consumers are supposedly able to download unauthorized music placed on MP3 sites. There are two distinct sides to the mp3 issue. A cyberspace tug-of-war is taking place between the rights of MP3 consumers and those of musicians and record companies that desire to control any and all consumption of their product, the music. Internet piracy is being combated by groups such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The rights of music consumers are being championed by many groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and supporters of such web sites as mp3.com. While there are a number of legal and authorized pieces of music that may be downloaded by Internet consumers, there are just as many offerings that can be considered to be "bootleg" or illegal, and are placed on the Internet by "pirates." This infringement on the rights of creators to control the reproduction and distribution of their product has incensed and angered many different groups. Their fight to retain control has resulted in a counter-argument in favor of online freedom and of expression and a battle to preserve civil liberties.
We are different. Living amidst a new era, technology has changed our lives forever. For more than a decade, our generation had commonly been referred to as the “net generation.” Our fortune brings us life in the age of digital information, where information flows freely and knowledge is infinite. We have embraced the concept of freedom and taken several levels farther than what our forefathers imagined. Whether we realize it or not, we naturally question the unknown and demand answers to our questions (and quick answers at that). The technology we live with today was nothing more than dream decades ago. Yet with these new technologies and information at our disposal, an issue we fight against unnecessarily is file-sharing music online: a redundant issue with a clear solution. While some question its legality, arguments pushing for restrictions are both weak and lacking in support. For that reason, there should absolutely not be any restrictions on file-sharing music online as its limits would contradict traditional human behavior, and damage the music industry severely.
...ample, thirteen hours of mp3 files can now be stored on a cd compared to traditional digital audio only allow for seventy-four minutes. mp3 files not only provide an efficient means of storing audio information but also for transmitting it. It is here that most discussion concerning mp3s is centered. Prior to a court order closing down online music distributor Napster in 2001, mp3 users were able to traffic and trade favored songs, artists and genres with other users with a speed and an ease that were previously unknown. Intervention from the music industry, however, has attempted to halt this activity, with copyright infringement cited as the legal rationale”( GÜNDÜZ).
Along with the development of a file format (MP3) to store digital audio recordings, came one of the new millennium’s most continuous debates – peer-to-peer piracy – file sharing. Internet companies such as Napster and Grokster became involved in notable legal cases in regards to copyright laws in cyberspace. These two cases are similar in nature, yet decidedly different. In order to understand the differences and similarities, one should have an understanding of each case as well as the court’s ruling.
An MP3 is a recorded high-quality audio (voice and music) file which can be distributed over the Internet, and played on any multimedia computer with the right sound card and speakers. MP 3 is simply a file format that compresses a song into a smaller size so it is easier to move around on the Internet and store. MPEG is the acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group. This group has developed compression systems used for video data. For example, DVD movies, HDTV broadcasts and DSS satellite systems use MPEG compression to fit video and movie data into smaller spaces. The MPEG compression system includes a subsystem to compress sound, called MPEG audio Layer-3. We know this as MP3.
The story really begins with Napster and its free software that allowed users to swap music across the Internet for free using peer-to-peer networks. While Shawn Fanning was attending Northeastern University in Boston, he wanted an easier method of finding music than by searching IRC or Lycos. John Fanning of Hull, Massachusetts, who is Shawn's uncle, struck an agreement which gave Shawn 30% control of the company, with the rest going to his uncle. Napster began to build an office and executive team in San Mateo, California, in September of 1999. Napster was the first of the massively popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems, although it was not fully peer-to-peer since it used central servers to maintain lists of connected systems and the files they provideddirectories, effectivelywhile actual transactions were conducted directly between machines. Although there were already media which facilitated the sharing of files across the Internet, such as IRC, Hotline, and USENET, Napster specialized exclusively in music in the form of MP3 files and presented a user-friendly interface. The result was a system whose popularity generated an enormous selection of music to download. Napster became the launching pad for the explosive growth of the MP3 format and the proliferation of unlicensed copyrights.
“Global sales of recorded music down 7% in 2002.” IFPI. n.p. 9 April 2003. Web. 21
Music piracy is a developing problem that it affects the music industry in many different ways including being responsible for the unemployment of 750,000 workers, as well as a loss of $2,5 billion; therefore, I want to explore ‘To what extent has music piracy affected the music industry market in the United States over the last 10 years?’
Napster is a company that developed the so-called peer-to-peer technology that lets people search and retrieve music files directly from one another's personal computers. When Napster first came out, millions of internet users worldwide were illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted music, videos, images, and software for free. After being vilified by the entertainment industry, which claims that Napster and any similar programs could make piracy of almost any digital work unstoppable, and many court battles, Napster was ordered by court to be shutdown in 2000. The technology has been praised as a revolutionary development for the Internet—unaware of the problems that would arise from such practices. However, the termination of Napster was not enough, months later, dozens of new, like programs were being developed and used. And since Napster, not much has been done to stop these latest downloading programs.