Copyrights and Music

Back in 1999, I downloaded Winamp, a digital media player that specialized in MP3 files, for the first time.  Though there was nothing illegal about Winamp itself, MP3 files were often directly associated with music piracy and illegal file-sharing.  I worried that if my parents saw that I had downloaded Winamp, they would immediately assume I was illegally downloading music files for free.

And let's be honest; I was.

There's no question that what I did was, at least on some small scale, illegal.  By every existing legal standard, I was making copies of copyrighted works to which I had not purchased the rights. But somehow, it didn't feel wrong to me.  At the time I was 15 years old.  I had never purchased a CD in my life, and my music consumption was minimal.  I couldn't tell you who my favorite bands were; I could barely list any bands.  The music I played on Winamp was my first real introduction into modern popular music, and if I hadn't heard it there, I didn't have the resources to get it anywhere else.  There was a hole in the market that wasn't being filled.

Today, music vendors are starting to address that market niche.  Children under the age of 15, who make up an increasing portion of comptuer and internet users, are finally able to purchase music for their own personal consumption.  It's still a pain, though; anone who has ever tried to use MusicMatch Jukebox to transfer music to a portable music player can attest that the industry as a whole has a long way to go.

And that's the point I'm trying to hit.  Computer usage is becoming increasingly common among non-technical users.  My 12-year-old sister and my 80-year-old grandfather both use computers on a regular basis, and the internet is empowering them to interact directly with music providers.  If the music industry wants to remain relevant in today's economy, it needs to figure out how to interact with these users.  My sister knows nothing about copyright law, and my grandfather doesn't know a thing about MP3 files, but if the music industry can make it easy to legally obtain music then these non-technical users will do it.  People generally take the path of least resistance; if we want people to obey out-of-date copyright laws, we need to make it easy for them to do so.

If that can't happen, then the law needs to change.