Is music piracy helping or harming the world Summary

Is music piracy helping or harming the world?
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Notably, technology has taken over the world and colonized many sectors, including the music industry. With many streaming services available on the internet, getting access to music content illegally is way easier with a few clicks. Piracy and illegal streaming have created a rift between producers and consumers, especially music artists who feel robbed of their creations. Likewise, consumers can access music innovatively and cheaply without explicit permission from artists. And many people do not have a problem with breaking copyright laws since they consider it a lesser evil. Undoubtedly, music piracy creates harm by undermining and stealing from artists. In turn, it creates a negative effect on the economy because it reduces sales in the music industry.
According to the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), the real cost of sound recording piracy goes beyond its impact on America’s sound recording producers and distributors. With piracy, harm is spread across intellectual property owners, taxpayers, and consumers. IPI reports that due to the United States and global piracy, its economy loses nearly $12.5 billion annually in total output. These outputs comprise of revenues and any other related parameter of economic performance. Also, the United States’ economy loses about 71,000 jobs due to piracy of which 26,860 jobs would be included in the sound recording industry while an additional 44,000 jobs spread to other sectors. Again, U.S workers lose nearly $2.7 billion annually in earnings out of which $1.1 billion would be earned by workers and the remaining earned by others in similar industries. Additionally, IPI has it that the federal, state, and local governments miss out on at least $422 million in taxes. In essence, there will be more money flowing in the global economy if music piracy is stopped. This information highlights the whole aspect of economic damage created by music piracy.[RIAA. “The true cost of sound recording piracy to the U.S. economy| IPI.” Riaa.com /reports/the-true-cost-of-sound-recording-piracy-to-the-u-s-economy/. (Accessed April 12 2021)]
A glimpse into some damaging piracy statistics, online piracy exceeds the download of files. For instance, pirated videos, be they music videos or movies get more than 230 billion views annually. Music piracy has the common feature of price as the reason for downloading pirated content worldwide. Many consumers believe that price discourages them from purchasing music. Similarly, more than one-third of music consumers still pirate the content. Research conducted by IFPI in 2018 found that consumers engaged and had access to music in both licensed and unlicensed channels. In 2019 alone, about 27% of music consumers had access to unlicensed music. Simply put, pirating content is normalized in the digital age and significantly lowers economic output.[Statista, “Most popular reasons for downloading music illegally worldwide in 2017,” Statista.com. /statistics/943206/music-piracy-reasons/ (accessed April 12, 2021).]
First, pirating content in its very nature remains illegal. Often, many consumers are quick to ignore this fact whenever they download a copyright-protected album. This is because it infringes on the right of the copyright holder to sell and distribute their work as they desire. Most importantly, the most crucial argument leveled against piracy is that it seriously undermines and robs the individual creators of the content. Simply put, piracy harms the global economy since it reduces sales in the music industry, including similar facets. It is estimated that between $200 and $250 billion is lost yearly because of piracy. Also, about 750,000 American jobs are lost in the process. Often, music artists derive pride in the work that they love. Contrary to the public perception, creating music entails hard labor, creativity, and maximum effort, and in many cases, they face struggles to polish their art just like in any profession. Whenever consumers listen to or watch their work without following the appropriate channels, it comes with a negative economic impact. In essence, downloading music freely devalues the work of several musicians. Whenever consumers take such shortcuts, they are basically saying that the artists’ work is worth nothing, of zero value. The bottom line is that for every piece of music downloaded illegally, musicians don’t get paid and they might eventually quit producing songs.[Erick. “Piracy: helping or harming the world?” Intellectual Property. https://sites.udel.edu/cisc356/2015/04/12/piracy-helping-or-harming-the-world/ (accessed April 12 2021)] [Branka, Vuleta. “23 corrupting piracy statistics you must know in 2021” Legaljobs. https://legaljobs.io/blog/piracy-statistics/. (Accessed April 12, 2021)] [Audrey, Tonkovic. "Music Industry’s digitalization: how to assure artists’ Intellectual Property Rights efficient and sustainable protection?" (2019).]
Second, downloading music from unauthorized sites is the equivalent of breaking the law. Notably, it is unauthorized to make copies of a copyrighted work without making the right compensation to the rightful owners. In addition, the pirated content lacks quality. Often, the tracks downloaded from these illegal sites are uploaded from other users and not from their original sources. Often, economic growth is a function of many several factors key among them being observant to the rule of law as well as property and contractual rights protection by any nation’s government for markets to function appropriately. Hence, piracy limits economic growth.[Steven, Caldwell Brown. "Where do beliefs about music piracy come from and how are they shared?" International Journal of Cyber Criminology 10, no. 1 (2016): 21-39.]
On the contrary, music piracy has seen a sharp rise with technological advancement. Many a time, consumers will pirate music because it is a cheaper alternative and may not like to spend more money on music they can easily get. This finding is a testament to the fact that technology abuse is a rampant phenomenon that significantly contributes to business losses. Also, it has compelled many business organizations to firmly invest in security measures. However, pirates’ activities are costly despite the initiatives and measures put in place. And perpetrators of music piracy are well aware of this fact. Often, pirates claim to be the contemporary digital freedom fighters against greedy corporates.[Alain, d’Astous, Colbert Francois, and Montpetit Daniel. "Music piracy on the web–how effective are anti-piracy arguments? Evidence from the theory of planned behaviour." Journal of Consumer Policy 28, no. 3 (2005): 289-310]
Additionally, the rise in digital piracy is because it’s free. Sometimes, however, individuals are willing to pay for the music whenever they find the opportunity. Notably, many people are aware and guilty of the illegality of music piracy and believe it is an unfair practice. Again, the majority of music pirates are influenced by their ethical beliefs that subsequently affect their downloading intentions. In one study, it was discovered that music sharing networks are a norm since consumers love to get the music without making the right purchases. This is narrowed down to the financial motives that act drive music piracy. Maybe if the music prices were much lower, consumers would effortlessly buy without pirating and thereby choosing the right and legitimate piece of music. In essence, the price of legally obtainable music is sometimes expensive. One study suggested that consumers love to acquire things for free compared to...