Friday 18 July 2014

Free Culture...a revisit...



(Thank you Melissa for publishing this post for me)

“From 1999-2012, Canadian recorded music sales decreased by more than 50%.  Establishing rates in Canada that are reflective of both market and international rates is critical for Canadian artists whose livelihood depends on earning a decent living wage from their profession, for music companies who actively develop and nurture Canadian talent throughout the world, and for all Canadians who value a healthy and prosperous music industry.” From the “Artists & Music Companies Support Re:Sound Application for Judicial Review of Copyright Board Tariff 8 Decision” from Music Canada published on June 16, 2014.

Two years ago (July 2012) I wrote the blog below on music and free culture which was about making ethical choices in how we buy products to ensure creators are rewarded.
While in the past I have been critical of Google and their policies around access to content and piracy, Google Play has enabled me to purchase a range of content I would not otherwise have access to for example music, books and television series. Although not in my preferred format it has been made available. Unfortunately I am not sure how much of a percentage of the total cost goes to the content creators.
@lyndahere and free culture...taking responsibility for your actions published Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Free culture….

I recently read a blog about an American student Emily White who was working as an intern at her college radio station. The student stated openly and honestly that she had downloaded approximately 11 000 songs without paying for them and had only ever paid for 15 CDs in her life. She was under the impression like many young people that it was acceptable to download songs and distribute them for free from the various file sharing sites available. The student now wanting to work in the music industry is thinking about the moral implications of her actions on artists and the industry she loves. There were nearly 500 responses to her blog posting and raised some very interesting responses justifying illegal downloading. David Lowery is an academic teaching music economics as the University of Georgia in the United States and his response raised many issues that affect musicians and singers like Great Big Sea.

I have just downloaded my second officially free single off the Internet by Great Big Sea’s Murray Foster’s Cocksure Lads “You Have Gotta Stay Cocksure”. The single was available from the University of Toronto’s official university magazine page where he did an interview (Murray Foster is an alumni from the University of Toronto). My first single was Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle Mutiny on the Dawn available on his webpage. I also joined MySpace and have access to a five free songs. I have never downloaded anything off a computer other than webpages, documents and images for personal use (basically because I don’t have the technical expertise and equipment). These songs weren’t that hard to find. After a brief search I was also able to find a range of free illegal music available for both concerts and recorded material made from copies generously shared by people who had no part in creating it for Great Big Sea and the members of the band.

David Lowery argues society should not accept the free culture while praising the college student for grabbling with the moral and ethical implications her actions are having on the profession she wishes to work in. One of the primary reasons used to justify illegal downloading is the music companies and their artists they sign make a lot of money. Not all artists and musicians make millions of dollars like the Rolling Stones, Madonna and more recently Justin Bieber. The average income of a musician is approximately $35 000 a year. Record companies pay advances and specific royalties to artists. And most have to repay the advances from record sales. If there are insufficient record sales then the debt may be written off. Under the law music companies are required to pay songwriters and issue a license. Artists are paid approximately 9.1 cents for every song they sell. Despite popular belief artists don’t make money on the road…they go on the road to support the sales of their album.

David Lowery recognises there are many moral and ethical issues associated with the implementation of technology. Copyright has worked well for musicians and artists of all kinds for hundreds of years and has protected their work, allowed them to decide how they want to distribute it and make money. But technology like the internet has radically changed all that. It is through this change in technology that individuals and organisations can now exploit artists and make their work freely available. Because people have unlimited access they may do so without thinking about the moral and ethical implications for society. These private corporations want individuals to recognise it is acceptable practice to download illegal material because we have the technology to do so even though it is illegal under the law. For example @lyndahere uploads her illegal material onto Youtube. Because it is there and we are able to watch it is acceptable.

David Lowery states “We are being asked to continue to let these companies violate the law without being punished or prosecuted. We are being asked to change our morality and principals to match what I think are immoral and unethical business models”. Lowery continues Google supports companies that place advertisements on sites that support piracy and include“The Pirate Bay, or Kim Dotcom and Megaupload. They are “legitimate” companies like Google that serve ads to... They are companies like Grooveshark that operate streaming sites... and over the objections of the artist, much less payment of royalties lawfully set by the artist”.

Lowery also raises the issue of file sharing sites charging entry fees to their sites full of free material. “It turns out that Verizon, AT&T, Charter etc etc are charging a toll to get into this neighborhood to get the free stuff. Further, companies like Google are selling maps (search results) that tell you where the stuff is that you want to loot. Companies like Megavideo are charging for a high speed looting service (premium accounts for faster downloads). Google is also selling ads in this neighborhood and sharing the revenue with everyone except the people who make the stuff being looted”. Youtube also support piracy in that it allows people to establish accounts and load up illegally copied material. They make their money from massive amounts of advertising. It is becoming increasingly frustrating to watch legal videos on Youtube when we are required to watch advertisements before the video. So there is a catch in watching allegedly “free” material. Youtube is also full of accounts that supply music with song words and images collected off the internet with some having thousands of hits that have copyrighted material. Some illegally copied videos even have advertising attached so Youtube must be aware that the account is not the lawful owner.

The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) have successfully prosecuted individuals and companies (RIAA Homepage 2012). Through my research I have found there are substantial attempts to establish education programs for a range of people including parents and children and within the education environment at all levels. But it is difficult to establish if these are successful. Governments have been unable to successfully monitor and implement strategies to combat breaches in the laws. People do it because it seems acceptable behaviour within their culture, and justify it using a range of reasons including as @lyndahere wrote the “music should be heard”. People do it knowing they have little chance of being caught even if reported to appropriate bodies such as the anti-piracy commission in Canada. David Lowery argues rather than leaving it up to governments it is in the hands of every individual like Emily White (and (@lyndahere) to examine their morals and behaviour and decide that stealing music and royalties that rightfully belong to the artists is not right. It is important to persuade others of this.

People really love the music artists produce. There are many things young people and all people can do to support musicians and other employees of the music industry other than pirating copies of concerts and recordings. This includes buying their music from legitimate sources like itunes and directly from their official sites and at concerts. As David Lowery states how difficult is it to login on to their site and download music paying artists the money due. Corporations advertise on illegal file sharing sites. Individuals can write to corporations and not buy their products. Google technically does not support piracy. For example I do not buy any products advertised on Youtube as it supports accounts containing illegally downloaded material in particular that of Great Big Sea and other artists. People can also write to their senator or congressman about the issues such as copyright that currently being negotiated and direct funds to those that create it. I do continue to watch videos on Youtube but only those that are associated with legal sites and any revenue would go to the artists and the industry….




Fandom, An Unexpected Journey 600 Blog Posts... Thank You !

It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating writing and sharing my 500 th blog post. Today I am celebrating writing and sharing 600 blog ...