FEATURED ARTICLE: Looting on the Net Hurts Business | by: Vanessa Freitas

Many have succumbed to the technological fever of downloading. With a few simple clicks of a mouse, you can download just about any song your ear longs to hear or stream the latest movie to hit theatres. You can also play the new hit video game or download the best software. Better yet, by knowing which blogs to visit or which file-sharing programs to use, obtaining such entertainment doesn't cost a cent.

Piracy has become a fast-growing online habit. Much like the pirates we see scavenging in cartoons pocketing jewels and bars of gold, Internet users are essentially robbing artists, software developers, film makers, and etc of their work and are damaging the these industries in the process.

“You can’t get a cup of coffee for free, you can’t buy groceries for free, but because of the file-sharing sites and bit-torrent and so forth, you can get digital files for free,” says Don Hogarth, a spokesperson of the Canadian Recording Industry Association. “It’s really not so different from walking into a store, stealing a DVD off the shelf and not paying for it.”

The affects of piracy have become quite apparent over recent years. As more people shift from purchasing in store to using pirated goods, sales continue to drop and the companies involved in these industries are forced to come up with new ways to sell products. It also means that they have to add a lot more bang for your buck.

“In the short run, they have to add more value to their products,” says Paul Fattahi, executive director of the International Music Software Trade Association (IMSTA).

Yet, Fattahi believes that people will continue to pirate off the Internet because they do not see the value and effort into producing creative products such as software, music, movies, games, and etc. “They believe the value of a music CD is 30 cents for the CD, 20 cents for the jewel case, and $1 for printing the art work,” says Fattahi. “They do not see the hours spent on writing, producing, recording, mixing, and mastering an album which could cost tens of thousands of dollars.”

The same can be said when it comes to software. “They believe that the value of a software product is in the tangible material that comes in the box and do not see all the resources that went into creating the actual software itself,” says Fattahi. “Additionally, people always try to justify piracy and come up with all sorts of excuses for using pirated products.”

Although a heavy music consumer, Ryan Halfpenny, a second year psychology student at York University, admits that he often downloads music off of file-sharing programs. “It’s fast and convenient,” says Halfpenny, whose headphones have become a detachable limb. “If I want to hear a song all I have to do is boot up my computer and search for it online.”

A fan of indie and alternative rock, he believes that there are positives in illegal downloading. “Sometimes these programs get artists known,” says Halfpenny. “Now and then I randomly download a song and come across someone I really like.”

He also notes that sometimes finding particular music in stores can prove to be quite a challenge. “I think music is harder to get in stores depending on what you listen to,” says Halfpenny. “If you’re into less popular artists, music stores are less likely to carry their CDs. Online gives you more selection and easier access. That’s why I sometimes choose to download. I have to get the music somehow.”

The actions of online music pirates do not just affect artists and musicians, but also a nation’s economy. According to research by the Institute of Policy Innovation in the US, Fattahi explains that “for every dollar an industry loses to piracy, the economy of that country loses $2.27.”

Those who pirate music, movies, games, and software contribute to a continuous cycle that influences all aspects of the economy. Fattahi argues that the drop of sales in the music industry causes people to lose their jobs, where they are then forced to spend less on products and services from other industries such as food, gas, clothing, entertainment, etc. Music and software companies and the like are also compelled to spend less on goods and services, therefore preventing revenues for businesses in other industries.

In order to break the online user’s pirating habits, some sort of action must be taken. “Many believe that to combat piracy, there has to be a balance between enforcement and education,” says Fattahi who thinks there should be more involvement by governments around the world to support organizations such as IMSTA. “Governments must directly or indirectly be involved with enforcement while helping and supporting organizations that use education as their tool to take on piracy.”

As is often said, education is the key to success. With education, many pirates will eventually understand how damaging their actions are to a number of people, companies, industries, and economies.  

by: Vanessa Freitas

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© Copyright IMSTA 2009