Computer Piracy

MP3

MP3 is a relatively new form of piracy. MP3, short for MPEG-1 Layer 3, is a compression standard that can compress music files with around a 10:1 ratio, while maintaining the same quality. What once would have taken 10 MB of space for a one minute file, now only takes 1 MB. It is this great decrease in size that has attracted the attention of many pirates. With an average modem, it only takes a few minutes to download a song. And with the advent of the CD recorder, pirates can uncompress the MP3s and make a CD with an hour and a half of their favorite songs. That CD can be played in any standard CD player. The pirates can leave the songs compressed and fit over 10 hours worth of music on a CD, which will play through their computer. To make things even better, devices similar to a walkman have been developed, which will play MP3 compressed files. There are many MP3 devices that have just been released, and that are being developed. One will allow you to play regular audio CDs and CDs with MP3s on them. This type of device comes in the form of a car stereo, a portable discman type device, and a home entertainment device which will also play DVDs. While the MP3 compression technology is not illegal, the distribution of MP3 files without the copyright owners consent is a violation of the copyright law.

One MP3 pirate claim is that just one person can not make a difference. MP3.com claims that "less than a buck on average of ... $16 [per CD] makes it back to the artist" (MP3.com). According to the RIAA, $5 billion in revenue was lost due to music piracy. With the artist already making so little, pirates are only compounding the losses of the artist.

Many MP3 pirates claim that because the Internet is so large, that they won't get caught. This may be true for most people right now, however, with the formation of groups like the RIAA, the chances are increasing that they will be detected. The RIAA says that it "monitors the Internet daily, scans for sights that contain music, and addresses infringements of member companies' rights. In many instances where [it has] found unauthorized use of sound recordings [it has] been successful in having the infringing sound recordings on those sites removed." (RIAA) According to the RIAA, it has made "1,481 arrests" (RIAA) from 1993 to 1997.

Some pirates claim that since they are not selling the music, they shouldn't be punished. Some claim that web sites they run which carry MP3s are just a backup for the music. However, "in November 1997, the No Electronic Theft Act was passed, which criminalizes actions on the Internet even if there is no financial gain, including copyright infringement of sound recordings that previously were not subject to criminal liability" (RIAA). The penalties for music piracy are harsh. The RIAA says that "anti-piracy statutes generally carry penalties as high as five-year jail terms and $250,000 fines. In the last few years, state statues for piracy have been upgraded to felonies in 33 states" (RIAA). The RIAA also claims that "in 1997, more than $9 million in judgments was awarded in civil suits..." (RIAA).

MP3 Pirates complain that the music industry is not embracing the MP3 technology. But the music industry has good reason not to. Frank Creighton, "associate director of the recording association's anti-piracy division..." says "...until the pirate market gets addressed, what's the incentive... if songs [the music industry is] going to charge for are available elsewhere for free?" (Brown). MP3 piracy is slowing the conversion to what would be a very beneficial technology to both the consumer and the music industry.

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MP3

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