Taking a Walk in the Other Viewpoint's Shoes

Photo Credit: Niklas Rämö

In 2002, USA Weekend Magazine took a poll of over 60,000 US teenagers regarding music piracy.  The results that came back weren't that much of a surprise to me.  Of those interviewed, 19% downloaded music frequently, 26% pirated on occasion, and 55% either never or rarely download music illegally.  The one result that I did find interesting though is that 54% of the teenagers that were interviewed didn't see anything wrong with downloading music from the internet.  Of those who said they didn't see anything wrong, 15% admitted that they knew they were cheating the artist, but didn't really care that they were because they wanted music without having to pay for it. connectwithkids.com

Although I'm very much so opposed to piracy of music, I am going to try to understand the viewpoint of those who see no wrong in it.

Although large name bands are very much so opposed to their music being pirated, some smaller indie bands owe all of their success to piracy and the internet.  They don't make much music off of their CDs, but due to people pirating their music, they're able to get concert gigs.  The hope for these bands is that one day when they become more successful in the future, people will stop stealing their music and buy CDs in support of them.  The belief is that "quality musicians will rise to the top and continue to produce music" regardless of whether or not they are being paid for it. mappingtheweb.com

Convenience is another reason why people download music so often these days.  It is a lot more convenient for people to turn on their computer than it is for them to drive to a music store in order to get the latest top hits.  On top of just convenience of how to get the music, people also find convenience in only downloading the songs that they want, rather than having to buy a full album for one or two songs.  They're saving both gas money and money that would have been spent on CDs this way.

A final popular belief is that recording artists are making such a large amount of money that a few song downloads won't hurt their paycheck too much.  If the artist's music is selling so well, then their concert tickets will sell well enough to cover the differences.

In conclusion, although I think that pirating music is illegal (so does the copyright law), I do take into consideration their viewpoints.  Knowing both sides gives me more of a reason to fight for what I believe, so why would I not view both sides?