The Pros and Cons of Music Piracy: Contemplating the Controversy Surrounding the Pirate Generation

Over the past 10 years it has become a common assumption that the music industry is dying as a result of an increase in illegal downloading. Citing programmes such as Napster, Audiogalaxy and Kazaa together with bitorrents and various other uploading sites, the internet’s technological developments has caused many to point out the defects of a phenomenon that has seen record sales plummet to levels previously unheard of. Emphasising the recent words of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, modern-day downloading and the subsequent gradual decadence of commercial sales will inevitably ensure that “the music business establishment completely folds.” Representing something of a modern-day philosophy, the fear echoing from many quarters symbolises the bewilderment facing this grotesque dilemma, namely how to convince today’s generation to pay inflated prices as opposed to downloading music for free. READ MORE…