 |
| Source: http://peninsulapress.com |
According to Ciolli 2011, based on Nielsen Soundscan, the
total album sales have been declining
significantly every year since 2006, when 588.2 million units were sold during
200, while, only 326.2 million albums were sold in 2010.
Technology has change our way
and habit of listening to music as compared to 20 years ago. In the current
are, those publishers advertise their song in the album on Youtube before it is
actually published. The statistics of viewers in the video actually makes them
to decide if they should actually release it. Then they will upload the songs
into websites like daum.net for koreans or iTunes to purchase the song in
a digital format.
According to Ernesto 2010, in 2003, during the first week,
the iTunes store opened and over a million of tracks were sold..With the
transformation from physical to digital, this hits the industry, which is
one of the reason on why the labels’ revenues continued to decline significanty
in the U.S. Consumers are no longer necessary had to buy the whole album if
only one or two songs they like with the introduction of paid downloads. Hence,
this has dramatically changed the music sales landscape.
Besides that, there are
file-sharing sites, for example BitTorrent is a by-product of the
digital revolution in music. It definitely violates the copyright regulations
as copying,sharing, making copies, and downloading is done without permission
of the copyright owner (Darthmouth 2013). Fair use is where a portion
of the copyright work is used. Hence, committing offenses under the
Serious Crime Act 2007 by doing acts capable of encouraging and assisting
communication to the public (under s.107(2A) of the CDPA); and/or distribution
(under s.107(1)(e) of the CDPA) of copyright content seeded by others (Andy 2013).
Therefore, piracy on file
sharing sites are unstoppable as everyone in the world will upload and share
new content which allows users to download illegally. Internet usage is too
wide to be able to control. According
to McKenzie, piracy cannot be abolished as the people who are gaining benefits
from the sale of pre-recorded music are the same people who manufacture the
gadgets which pirate these entertainment products.” (Campbell, n.d).
 |
| Source: own picture |
In conclusion, yes, piracy
does affects the album sales of an artist, but looking at a positive side,
sharing through internet actually gives exposures of the artist to the whole
world. Hence, it is a win-lose situation.
References
Andy 2013, UK Police Launch Campaign to Shut Down
Torrent Sites, viewed 3rd June 2013, <http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-launch-campaign-to-shut-down-torrent-sites-130604/>
Campbell, C n.d, Piracy Killing The Music Business, Or Is
It?, Jahworks, viewed 3rd June 2013, <http://jahworks.org/cecelia/piracy-killing-the-music-business-or-is-it/#.UbNNSCJm4b0>
Dartmouth 2013, Peer-to-Peer
File Sharing and Copyright Law, Dartmouth Copyright Policy &
Guidelines, viewed 3rd June 2013,
<http://www.dartmouth.edu/copyright/peer2peer/#fairUse>
Ciolli, J 2011, As
illegal albums cut into album sales, Americans choosing to own less music,
Peninsula Press, viewed 3rd June 2013, <http://peninsulapress.com/2011/03/06/as-illegal-downloads-cut-into-album-sales-americans-choosing-to-own-less-music/>
Enersto 2010, Is
Piracy Really Killing The Music Industry? NO!, Torrent Freak, viewed 3rd
June 2013, <http://torrentfreak.com/is-piracy-really-killing-the-music-industry-no-100418/>
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