How far would someone go for a dollar and twenty nine cents? Lillian Usadi ’17 sarcastically says, “I would work/walk until I start to sweat.” And it’s not just Lillian. In fact, many people believe that a dollar and twenty nine cents isn’t worth a drop of sweat. However, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), “around 17.5 percent of residents in the United States would risk spending up to five years rotting in jail, a felony record, and fines up to $250,000 [for a dollar and twenty nine cents].” That dollar and twenty nine cents is the approximate cost for one song on iTunes, Google Play Store, and others in the digital music industry.
So how come when it comes to buying songs for one dollar and twenty nine cents, around 17.5 percent of the United States’ population suddenly wants to save money and download songs from illegal internet sources? For some, it is because downloading one song may not feel that serious of a crime; after all, it is just a dollar and twenty nine cents.
Although it might not seem like much, once this amount starts to accumulate, it can eventually turn into billions. Also, a study by the Institute for Policy Innovation shows that “[illegal music downloading leads to] around twelve and a half billion dollars in losses to the U.S. economy, as well as more than seventy thousand lost jobs and two billion in lost wages to American workers.” These workers include not only the artist, but the entire cast: the recording artists, audio engineers, producers, songwriters, and innumerous others. By downloading just one song from an internet source, someone is immediately impacting countless numbers of people.
Many of you have committed some sort of larceny; for example, stealing a jellybean from a friend. So think of illegally downloading music the same way as stealing one jellybean each from hundreds of people. Sure, it’s only one jellybean, but once others also steal jellybeans, soon those same hundreds of people are going to lose a whole lot of jellybeans. Just because someone is not tangibly and physically taking something from someone does not mean you aren’t stealing. The thing many people do not realize is that illegally downloading one song is the same as stealing from numerous different people.
As explained by Brian McCormick ’16 , “I don’t really think it’s right to do, just like any other type of theft. It’s still stealing the property of another organization.”
Sure, some people state that music piracy is actually beneficial, because as a result, artists create more albums. However, it is still considered a serious crime to steal property from hundreds of people.
As Government and Economics teacher Mrs. Raphaels asserts, “As cofounder and advisor of the Ethics Club, I don’t think it’s right to steal someone’s intellectual property. However, when evaluating right and wrong, it is important to consider multiple perspectives. One might argue that in the short run, illegally downloaded music deprives an artist of the financial compensation for their intellectual property. However, in the long run, illegally downloaded music can increase an artist’s exposure, thereby broadening their fan-base, and subsequently increasing their ability to earn a living by fulfilling their art.”
So the next time you’re about to click that download button on an illegal site with free music, pause for a second and think about all of these consequences. Every dollar and twenty nine cents you decide to save helps crack down our economy more and more. By clicking that button, you’re robbing hundreds of people, and risking jail time. Think about it: is a dollar and twenty nine cents really worth it?