Why Is
File Sharing So Popular?
By Neal Shaffer
10/07/03
In one of the first major, above the board clashes between technology
and the old economy (at least as far as average consumers are concerned),
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently filed 261
lawsuits against individual users of file-sharing sites such as Kazaa
and Grokster. Record sales have been in decline for several years, and
the RIAA has decided that downloading is largely to blame. Their response
is a study in ignorance, and it reveals desperation in an industry that,
if it can’t catch up, might never be the same again.
The Association (and, by extension, its members) is a lot like many
large institutions in that technology has far outpaced their ability
to assimilate and respond to it. The popularity of internet song-swapping
caught them off guard, and they’ve spent the past few years
playing catch-up. The first salvo in the war against file sharing
was a successful attempt to shut down Napster, the first P-to-P
(person-to-person) site to achieve wide recognition. But the demise
of Napster only led to the creation of new and better services.
The RIAA, not knowing exactly what to do, is now filing the lawsuits
as a sort of desperate, “scared straight” tactic. It
may work when it comes to the grandparents and preteens they’ve
targeted, but it misses the point.
The question that the RIAA should be asking is not “What can
we do to stop file sharing?” but, rather, “Why is file
sharing so popular?” The fact that non-sanctioned downloads
are free has a lot to do with it, but it’s too easy to say
that downloading is popular simply because it’s cheap and
easy. It’s popular because people don’t feel that they
should have to pay what CDs cost. It’s not that people are
opposed to the idea of buying their music (the startling success
of Apple’s iTunes music store proves as much), it’s
that they’re not willing to buy into the outmoded structure
the major labels continue to push. People don’t want to buy
a whole album for just one song (whatever happened to the single?),
or pay $16.99 for an album we all know would still turn a profit
at $9.99. There’s been a vacuum in this area for years, and
sites like Kazaa are filling it.
The RIAA’s only real counterargument is that sharing copyrighted
songs is illegal, plain and simple. There is some obvious truth
to that, but it again misses the point. By suing individual users,
they have managed to slow the downloading trend (a variety of reported
studies suggest that the lawsuits have had at least some deterrent
effect) while not only failing to address the problem, but potentially
making it even worse. Subpoenaing user records from ISP’s
and suing without first assessing each case for gravity smacks of
heavy handedness, and it naturally creates resentment. Countersuits
have already been filed by both Kazaa and Charter Communications,
an ISP, to block the RIAA from obtaining user records, and a new
generation of file sharing software promises to provide users with
more anonymity and security.
One would think that the RIAA would look at this situation and follow
it through to the logical conclusion: that in order to combat the
file sharing trend, major labels need to reassess their business
practices. They need to come up with their own sanctioned download
sites (iTunes is a great start, but only that) that offer quality
and value, and they need to make buying CD’s worthwhile for
people who still want to do it. To be fair, certain labels have
started offering their discs at lower prices, with added content
such as DVD material or enhanced CD-ROM features, or both. But on
the whole CD prices remain high and, simply, not worth it.
The RIAA doesn’t seem to see any of this,
and it’s strange. But it may just be the best thing that has
happened to the music buying public in years. The more inhospitable
the major market becomes, the more artists and buyers will carve
out new places to do their business. It’s no accident that
smaller and more independent labels (see Sub Pop, Dischord, Touch
and Go, Vagrant, and a host of others) that have generally reasonable
prices and artist-friendly business practices have not suffered
as the majors have. But if the majors continue (through the RIAA)
to push wrongheaded policies, will anybody shed a tear if they become
irrelevant entirely? Doubtful. And if they do manage to see the
light and enact more artist and buyer friendly polices, well, that’s
OK too.
Read The Law on Downloading and Sharing Music over the Internet
