A great read - definitely five stars - ✯✯✯✯✯
Recently Emily White, an intern at NPR All Songs Considered, and GM of what appears to be her college radio station, wrote a post on the NPR blog in which she acknowledged that while she had 11,000 songs in her music library, she’s only paid for 15 CDs in her life. Our intention is not to embarrass or shame her. We believe young people like Emily White who are fully engaged in the music scene are the artist’s biggest allies. We also believe–for reasons we’ll get into–that she has been been badly misinformed by the Free Culture movement. We only ask the opportunity to present a countervailing viewpoint.
Recently Emily White, an intern at NPR All Songs Considered, and GM of what appears to be her college radio station, wrote a post on the NPR blog in which she acknowledged that while she had 11,000 songs in her music library, she’s only paid for 15 CDs in her life. Our intention is not to embarrass or shame her. We believe young people like Emily White who are fully engaged in the music scene are the artist’s biggest allies. We also believe–for reasons we’ll get into–that she has been been badly misinformed by the Free Culture movement. We only ask the opportunity to present a countervailing viewpoint.
Emily:
My intention here is not to shame you or embarrass you. I believe you
are already on the side of musicians and artists and you are just
grappling with how to do the right thing. I applaud your courage in
admitting you do not pay for music, and that you do not want to but you
are grappling with the moral implications. I just think that you have
been presented with some false choices by what sounds a lot like what we
hear from the “Free Culture” adherents.
I must disagree with the underlying premise of what you have written.
Fairly compensating musicians is not a problem that is up to
governments and large corporations to solve. It is not up to them to
make it “convenient” so you don’t behave unethically. (Besides–is it
really that inconvenient to download a song from iTunes into your
iPhone? Is it that hard to type in your password? I think millions would
disagree.)
Rather, fairness for musicians is a problem that requires each of us
to individually look at our own actions, values and choices and try to
anticipate the consequences of our choices. I would suggest to you that,
like so many other policies in our society, it is up to us individually
to put pressure on our governments and private corporations to act
ethically and fairly when it comes to artists rights. Not the other way
around. We cannot wait for these entities to act in the myriad little
transactions that make up an ethical life. I’d suggest to you that, as a
21-year old adult who wants to work in the music business, it is
especially important for you to come to grips with these very personal
ethical issues.
I’ve been teaching college students about the economics of the music
business at the University of Georgia for the last two years.
Unfortunately for artists, most of them share your attitude about
purchasing music. There is a disconnect between their personal behavior
and a greater social injustice that is occurring. You seem to have
internalized that ripping 11,000 tracks in your iPod compared to your
purchase of 15 CDs in your lifetime feels pretty disproportionate. You
also seem to recognize that you are not just ripping off the record
labels but you are directly ripping off the artist and songwriters whose
music you “don’t buy”. It doesn’t really matter that you didn’t take
these tracks from a file-sharing site. That may seem like a neat dodge,
but I’d suggest to you that from the artist’s point of view, it’s kind
of irrelevant.
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