The Unlicensed Reproduction of Copyrighted Media Essay

Unlicensed reproduction of copyright media involves the use of works that have been protected by the copyright laws without the owners' consent. In so doing do, the unlicensed reproducers infringe on particular rights that are granted to the copyright holders. Such rights include to perform, display, distribute and even produce works. The copyright holder is, therefore, the sole creator, and publisher of his/her works.

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Several institutions and agents are charged with the responsibility of protecting the copyright laws. These agencies protect digital works such as films, music, and software. According to these institutions, unauthorized reproduction of digital works is considered unethical and therefore referred to as piracy. They continue to indicate that unlicensed reproduction often denies the original producers from making income, which in the long run affects the overall economy which also discourages cultural innovation as well as the emergence of new artist. (Granados 11).

Most of these claims and arguments are based on evidence. Some would argue that these claims are based on assumptions. In other cases, some would argue that digital property is not the same as physical property and therefore, activities such as piracy should not be considered as acts of theft because the legitimate owner can still use his/her works. In a different argument, it is indicated that the unauthorized reproduction of digital works does not discourage cultural innovation because there are several instances of cultural and technological innovations that arise as a result of sharing digital content.

In recent years, the technology sector has grown tremendously with the introduction of online streaming services that provide different forms of media including music to different online subscribers all over the world. Some of these companies often observe the copyright rules and regulations and therefore, the artists also benefit. Online music companies such as Spotify that offer online music services have in the last couple of months tried to attract more artists by offering them advances and certain business terms that are aimed at convincing them to license their music directly with the music streaming application (Welch 15). There have been reports that the new business deals offer both established and emerging artists thousands of dollars as an advance payment for agreeing to their terms that include agreeing to license a given number of tracks (Karp 24).

However, when people download or stream music from pirate sites, the general music industry is affected because it hurts both established and emerging artists although the effects are felt more by the upcoming artists. In most cases, the impact of piracy on artists that are already established is often cited because big music companies can provide a figure on the effect piracy is having on their music. A good example is Hollywood Studios that have worked over the years to back-track illegal streaming and download of music after incurring hundreds of millions regarding losses. However, this is not the same case when it comes to emerging artists and especially those that are very close to making. Such artists lack such figures that indicate how much regarding losses they make as a result of piracy.

The CEO of Copyright Alliance, Keith Kupferschmid, indicated that piracy is one of the main factors that disadvantage independent creators and owners who are struggling in their respective industries to make it. These fields could either be music, application developments, film production, and even photography. He further adds that such independent creators work extremely hard to make a career and a livelihood out of what they do. Unfortunately, when there is piracy, these artists lose both income and confidence and therefore, they fail to re-invest in the same which consequently hinders growth and innovations.

Taking a look at the music industry and the number of financial resources that are required to produce music it is evident as to why music piracy should never be encouraged. Producing a song or an entire album can cost the artists thousands of dollars which should not be for free. James Kimberly who is the president of the CBM Records indie label indicated that within the first few hours of releasing music, the same music could be found illegally downloaded on some websites. She says that "There isn't any less incentive for an up and coming artist's music to be pirated that a famous artist," (Granados 125). Pirates often go through the web looking for new and upcoming artists with the 'just in case they make it' mentality that also involves taking these artists' music and possibly illegally profiting from it. In most cases, such people are found in other countries where the artist or the label cannot sue them.

It is a massive challenge to bring down the music after it has been uploaded online and it is one battle emerging artists cannot afford as it involves a lot of resources. It is estimated that close to 10% of royalties in the music industry are lost through piracy. This means that an established artist like Katy Perry who made close to 135 million dollars from album sales would have lost close to 13.5 million dollars. Unfortunately, for many upcoming artists, profits range from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

What many people fail to understand is that music is a person's livelihood and therefore, illegally stealing a person's work is stealing the hard work they have put into ensuring that their music is a success. This is both unethical and illegal. The artist is not compensated, and therefore, all the life's savings that they used in producing the music is lost in the wind. Such events can be quite costly and discouraging.

Generally, piracy affects the economy in several ways. It leads to a decrease in legal copies. The number of authorized copies that would have been sold is not equal to the number of copies that are duplicated illegally. Pirates often sell these copies at a substantially discounted street price. Therefore, piracy affects the retail price of legal copies. An increase in the availability of cheap, quality but illegal copies in the streets often reduces the demand for legal copies to appoint where users choose to buy the illegal copies instead of buying those that are legal and a likely to profit the artist and the general economy.

The overall impact of the music and film industry on the U.S. economy is very significant. In 2011, the creative industries led by companies such as Hollywood, cable, and advertising made up 3.2% of the United States GDP. Therefore, anything that affects the music and film industry is often reflected in the country's economy (The Guardian 32).

Music piracy is slowly stealing and eventually affecting the music industry. According to Storrs Beverly, music piracy has become a day-to-day crime people have gotten used to commit. What many fail to understand is the effort music production requires and the number of people that work for the music industry. The industry has many songwriters, producers, publishers, talent scouts, computer technicians, sound and audio engineers, as well as recording artists. Piracy deprives the economy because there is a loss of more than 12.5 billion dollars annually, the loss of close to 70,000 jobs, and approximately $2 billion regarding lost wages to hard working American workers.

Conclusion

It is evident from the article that piracy losses are based on assumptions but facts. The amount of capital and revenue that is lost to piracy affects the economy in very many ways. However, the effects are majorly felt by the artists who spend all their time and resources making a career from their music. Piracy denies them the right to enjoy the fruits of hard work and eventually such incidences may discourage them. Upcoming artists need the necessary support to ensure that they progress and improve on the music careers which will foster innovation, creativity and healthy competition in the industry.

Works Cited

Granados, Nelson. "How Online Piracy Hurts Emerging Artists." Forbes, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nelsongranados/2016/02/01/how-online-piracy-hurts-emerging-artists/#4dba9c477741. Accessed 2 Nov 2018.

"Hollywood Has Blockbuster Impact On US Economy That Tourism Fails To Match." The Guardian, 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/05/arts-culture-us-economy-gdp. Accessed 2 Nov 2018.

Karp, Hannah. "Spotify Offers Managers, Artists Advances To License Music Directly To Its Streaming Service: Exclusive." Billboard, 2016, https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/8459633/spotify-offers-managers-artists-advances-to-license-music. Accessed 2 Nov 2018.

Storrs, Beverly. "Piracy Is Stealing And Affecting Music Industry - The Daily Universe." The Daily Universe, 2012, https://universe.byu.edu/2012/02/21/piracy-is-stealing-and-affecting-music-industry/. Accessed 2 Nov 2018.