Can the Music Industry Change Its Tune?

Can the Music Industry Change Its Tune?

1. The problem in this case was piracy of music. This problem was caused by illegal downloading of music using the peer-to-peer downloading software. This caused the music recording companies to lose sales and profits significantly.
2. The recording company did correctly identify the people, organizations and technology that caused them the loss of music sales. The people were general public that used peer-to-peer software to illegally download music. The organizations that made these softwares available to the public are also liable for the problem in the music industry. The technology that caused the problem is the software that companies like Kazaa, Napster, and WinMX made available to download music.
3. There were several solutions that the music industry tried to stop the illegal music downloading. First solution they tried was to take the companies that provided peer-to-peer software to court. This forced company like Napster to transform into a fee-based music subscription company. Then when the U.S. Supreme Court in Los Angeles ruled that individual companies could not held responsible for illegal music downloading because they cannot control or monitor how the users use their software. After this the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) started prosecuting individuals who used internet to illegally download music. The recording companies also “resisted licensing their songs for legal sales online. When they did make their catalogs available, they attached restrictive technical safeguards to prevent abuse, such as prohibiting files from being copied to CDs or portable music players”(Laudon, 35). Then in April 203 Apple computer announced their website, iTunes Music Store. This website sold music for $.99 and most complete CD for only $10. To date the iTunes store has sold up to 900 million songs. “Apple subsequently reached licensing agreement with all five major record labels to boost its catalog to more than two million songs.”(Laudon, 35). This was the most effective and correct solution to stopping or decreasing the piracy of music.
4. I think the current solution, signing an agreement with Apple, and suing individuals for illegally downloading music is a viable solution to piracy. Taking people to court lets them know how serious it is to download music illegally, and Apple is well known company and it is selling music for a very reasonable price so people can buy the songs they like.
   

Laudon, Kenneth C., and Jane P. Laudon. Eassentials of Business Information Systems. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 34-37