It may be shocking to discover that pirates still roam the earth. Scurvy dogs that plunder and pillage for the thrill of the hunt and the reward of buried treasure.
Armed with a central index server as their sword, a personal computer as their ship, the Internet as their ocean and free music as their treasure, these modern-day scallywags set their hi-tech sails for downloading adventures.
Since the discovery of file sharing, the music industry has waged war on the music mercenaries. The Recording Industry Association of America has sued thousands of individuals for sharing music, which they view as "intellectual property" protected by copyright laws. Using the Digital Millennium Act and the No Electronic Theft Act as their cannons, the RIAA has done their best to swab the vast open Internet of piracy. But no self respecting buccaneer would yield to such pressure.
Organizations, such as Downhill Battle and Free Culture, have been set up to fight against the overwhelming power of the RIAA and record labels and put the control of music back in the hands of musicians and fans. These groups have been established in response to a chorus of public disapproval over the iron-grip that record labels have on music.
According to the mission statement at Downhill Battle,"Five major record labels have a monopoly that's bad for musicians and music culture, but now we have an opportunity to change that. We can use tools like file sharing to strengthen independent labels and end the major label monopoly."
The demand for free music is there. And the pressure from record labels and the RIAA has forced music pirates to become more devious in their tactics. Although the stakes are high, downloading music for free is possible without having to walk the music industries plank.
Spencer Crooks can be reached at:
scrooks@mail.csuchico.edu
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