Summative - Piracy

This week we focused on piracy in the music industry. What surprised me the most is how serious of an issue this is, I honestly hadn’t thought about it much before. Perhaps because people do it constantly and in the “privacy” of their own home (so we don’t see this crime happening) is why I wasn’t as aware of this issue. Also, because in most cases the product isn’t directly in our hands (like stealing from a mall) people may not believe the crime is as bad. Whatever the reason, until reading these articles I didn’t see piracy as such an offensive crime, but they have changed my mind and it is stealing. The four motivations, although they make sense, in the end it is still going against the law. I have watched a pirated movie, and listened to pirated music before, so I am at fault as well. Just like some of the articles said, people say contradictions (just like I did) I know it is illegal and I see the reasoning behind the laws, but I have still participated in these actions (although a lot less than others). The other thing that surprised me is how most weeks, the topic always dwindles down to be about money. I guess it’s true that the world revolves around money, especially when it comes to the new technologies. Every company is searching on how they can make the most profit and every individual is searching for how to save a quick dollar. The culture vs. commons articles from last week relate really well to this week, as people discussed that in the digital industry, music and film are there to be shared amongst the community, while large corporations have a different opinion. The laws and regulations are made by a small group of people that then affect a much larger group of people (I’m finding this to be true in a lot of aspects of life). When it comes to piracy, I think it will continue to be a vicious circle, companies will continue to make laws and enforce them, while people will continue to break these laws and find entertainment for themselves for less or even free. It is going to remain with the us against them world of capitalism.