The Freeloaders, by Megan McArdle: Article Analysis on Illegal Music Download

1045 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact on music piracy

What do you think about free music downloading? Do you think it should be allowed or not? The article entitled “The Freeloaders,” written by Megan McArdle, is based on the issue that many people are sharing and downloading music files for free, and that many people accept this behavior. It is also based on how the music file-sharing is affecting the success of music industry negatively. While McArdle is persuasive when she claims that music file-sharing is not benefiting the music industry and the entertainment industry financially, I also see that there is a lack of solid evidence to back up her argument, which complicates this issue. Her arguments seem very opinion-based. McArdle argues that although music file-sharing is easily assessable and available in the millennium generation, free music file-sharing is causing damage to individuals involved in the music industry and in the entertainment industry. McArdle starts off the article by mentioning that record labels suffer the most financially in the year 2009. She also mentions that for the last decade, record labels business are experiencing decreases in revenues. McArdle criticizes the millennium generation for violating property rights of recording labels and the music industry. Moreover, McArdle points out that many young people in this millennium generation are the ones who are downloading music for free. She discusses how hard it was for people to look for music and to copy music in the past history compared to the present. She also points out that young people in the millennium generation do not see downloading music for free as a huge problem. She concludes her article by stating that perhaps music piracy is not such a negative trend. Although it affects individua... ... middle of paper ... ... issue of file-sharing, and the decline in music sales due to people downloading free music. Besides using vague information and few statistics, she is also making many assumptions about the facts that she is stating in this article. When she is making too many assumptions, I am not entirely persuaded to steer clear from downloading music for free. Therefore, this is why I do not think this article is effective. In conclusion, McArdle does a fairly good job laying out the main points to support her stance against music file-sharing. However, she could use more specific details and evidence to help strengthen her arguments. Her arguments are weakened as she provides many generalities, and no data or strong evidentiary support. Works Cited McArdle, M. (2010). The Freeloaders How a generation of file-sharers is ruining the future of entertainment. The Atlantic.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Charles W. Moore's Article: Is Music Piracy Stealing

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Charles W. Moore’s essay, “Is Music Piracy Stealing?” Moore uses great statistics of the people who are concerned and not concerned about music piracy. He gives many examples of the facts he has researched and gives an ethical appeal to his audience. “This week the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) launched an ad campaign using the slogan ‘copying is stealing,’ attempting to convey the message that digital copying is as serious and criminal as stealing a CD from a record shop or a DVD from a video shop” (Moore 242). However, throughout Moore’s entire essay he has a weak introduction and conclusion paragraph, repetitive examples, examples that do not apply to his topic and he uses many logical

    Read More

  • Trends In Copyright Infringement: A Review of Two Predictive Articles

    1963 Words  | 4 Pages

    Much of Rose's argument for the retention of current copyright laws stems from the faulty belief that copyright infringement will remain much of an underground practice.  In his article Rose asserts that "Net users who aren't at least mildly familiar with the [file-sharing] underworld will never even hear about such systems before they are dismembered" [1].  While file-sharing might not have been an important issue in 1995, the word "underworld" does not accurately describe the flourishing file sharing situation today.

    Read More

  • Should People Be Prosecuted

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    A big topic that has come about is should people be prosecuted for illegally pirating online files. This includes; music, movies, programs, games and pictures. The large portion of online piracy is music. Some will argue stealing a song is as bad as stealing a car. (kain) Others will concur that song artist and record companies are losing big time bucks. Downloading music should be prosecuted as it is still stealing. Whether the person has it in their physical possession or files on their electronics it is still stealing and artist are losing money that is rightfully theirs.

    Read More

  • Essay On Music Piracy

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    People have been finding alternative ways to access their music since technology evolved, whether it was recording songs off the radio onto a cassette tape or borrowing your friend’s CD in order to ‘burn’ it, No one played by the rules, legally. This piece will discuss illegally downloading music and the political theories and concepts it represents. What are the social norms and attitudes that drive this behaviour? and what is the solution, if there is one?

    Read More

  • Online Music Distribution In A Post-Napster World

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    An “analyst” was quoted in the case (in 2002) as saying that “people will pay for music on the Internet, eventually.” This person was skeptical of the willingness of consumers to pay for

    Read More

  • The Napster and Grokster Cases: Differences and Similarities

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Along with the development of a file format (MP3) to store digital audio recordings, came one of the new millennium’s most continuous debates – peer-to-peer piracy – file sharing. Internet companies such as Napster and Grokster became involved in notable legal cases in regards to copyright laws in cyberspace. These two cases are similar in nature, yet decidedly different. In order to understand the differences and similarities, one should have an understanding of each case as well as the court’s ruling.

    Read More

  • Why Copyright Exists In The US

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people ask themselves if downloading music, photocopying other peoples work is good for other people. Well I say that downloading music is unethical and should not be done because you may never know what will happen if you download a music or a picture in the internet. There are many rules for downloading music in the internet, that you could be fined for or go to jail for not asking permission to download.

    Read More

  • Copyrights in the Music Industry

    2344 Words  | 5 Pages

    Is important for anyone who has created any intellectual property to protect it. In the music industry, in order for someone to protect their work, they must obtain a copyright. Music has been around before anyone could obtain a copyright and when the invention of the computer came along it made it easier for someone to steal another artist's intellectual property with the help of the internet. This paper will cover what events have taken a big role in copyright protection for artist, the consequences if someone was to break the rules of a copyright which is called copyright infringement, and how will a copyright hold in the future. Were copyrights enacted without the thought of life changing technology, and how can some music companies surpass copyright infringement and make a profit from the artist? Can a copyright really make that much of a difference in the world we know today?

    Read More

  • Internet Piracy: Theft of Intellectual Property

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although online file sharing debuted in 1999, lawmakers and copyright industries are just beginning to address the myriad questions the practice has generated. In At Issue: Internet Piracy, authors attempt to answer some of those questions.

    Read More

  • Digital Piracy

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the demand side, the digital consumption of media products is accompanied by the emergence of digital piracy. Whilst copying had already been technically feasible during the era of video cassettes, it required certain equipment and piracy behaviour was limited (Waterman et al., 2007). The rise of the computer and World Wide Web, however, simplified the unauthorised duplication and storage of copyrighted content and caused movie piracy to soar substantially (Fetscherin, 2005). Digital piracy can generally occur offline (through the copying of discs and files) and online (through the downloading and sharing of files). A recent study revealed that approximately 24% of global internet traffic is copyright infringing, with peer-to-peer networks accounting for half of that amount (Envisional, 2011). Furthermore, internet piracy facilitates the sharing of movies during and even before their official theatrical release through either leaked insider copies or recordings in the cinema, which means that contemporary digital piracy affects all windows of the industry (Byers, 2003; Kwok, 2004).

    Read More

  • Music File-Sharing- Right or Wrong?

    2547 Words  | 6 Pages

    To file share or not to file share? That is the question. Should free music off the internet be legal? Who is in the right- Napster or the music industry? There are some of the topics I hoped to discuss when I invited four journalists to my house to debate the controversial issue of online music.

    Read More

  • Downloading and Uploading Copyrighted Materials Should be Legal

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first reason why downloading and uploading copyrighted materials from the Internet should be legal is that downloading copyrighted materials positively affects the economy. The European Commission Joint Research Center reported that the profits of music companies would be 2% lower if uploading and downloading copyrighted materials were banned. However, music companies are able to acquire more profits despite illegal downloading because many people tend to purchase CDs or DVDs after watching or listening to copyrighted materials for free. Moreover, the research showed that people who download music illegally spent more money to buy music than people who did not download illegally. In addition, research conducted by the Swiss government informed that one-third of Swiss people downloaded copyrighted materials from the Internet because personal use of copyrighted materials is legal in Switzerland. Even though there is a fact that many people can download copyrighted materials from the Internet legally in Switzerland, the amount of money that people spend to buy copyrighted materials is not f...

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Free Music

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...uld emphasize the negative aspects of downloading music for free, research shows that the benefits will greatly conquer the drawbacks. By letting people download music for free, the artist will have a better chance to have his music out faster and have his music gain popularity quicker. The local bands can be heard by having free songs. Also, you’ll have your favorite song in the palm of your and. Now it’s up to the record labels and artist to not be greedy and let the music be free.

    Read More

  • The Debate Over Downloading Music for Free

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    Downloading music for free is a major issue in the world today. Some people love it and some people hate it. Musicians feel they need to be paid for people listening to their music and the average downloader feels there is no harm in downloading a few songs. Are there positives aspects of downloading music for free for musicians? Are there negative aspects of downloading music for the average person? Downloading music at a first glance doesn’t seem so bad. People have the chance to hear a musician or band for the first time or people can find a song they heard, but haven’t been able to find the CD. Downloading music gives people an opportunity to hear new songs and discover new bands or musicians they like. It all sounds wonderful, right? Right, but there are many people who completely oppose downloading music. Mainly it is the musicians or bands who oppose downloading music. Just downloading music isn’t what upsets the musicians. It is downloading for free. They are taking measure to stop it too. For example, during the Grammies a Heineken commercial aired called “Piracy” and showed a guy downloading music to his MP3 player and then heading to the fridge for a beer, only to be confronted by an empty six pack, thanks to his roommate’s pilfering. The tagline: “Piracy is so wrong” (Atkinson 3). The musicians feel that they should be given royalties for all of their songs that are downloaded.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Piracy on the Music Industry

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    The music industry started in the mid 18th century with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Through the decades there has been a great increase in this industry; however, the revenues for this industry have declined by half in the last 10 years. This has been caused by music piracy, which “is the copying and distributing of copies of a piece of music for which the composer, recording artist, or copyright-holding record company did not give consent” . After 1980’s, when the Internet was released to public, people started to develop programs and websites in which they could share music, videos, and information with...

    Read More

More about The Freeloaders, by Megan McArdle: Article Analysis on Illegal Music Download

Open Document