The Mp3 Controversy

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MP3 technology, short for MPEG-1 Layer 3, first appeared on the Internet in the late 1990’s, and as time passed users could retrieve the musical works of artists or groups by accessing a website or file-sharing utility. This not only gave exposure to these musicians, but it also gave smaller, less known artists chances at exposure. Mp3.com began some years later, a website initiated for the soul purpose of allowing local musicians with recorded albums or demos to publish their works to the mainstream Internet, and gained much popularity as MP3 became more eminent. Then MP3s became a national sensation with the release of Napster, a program that allowed users to trade songs with other users across an Internet network. A political storm approached as more and more MP3 users collected songs on their computers and purportedly stopped buying albums. Somewhat of a bad mark has been put on the “MP3” name by the government and recording industry because of the negative implication it has had in the last decade. Two federal laws have been the center of debate in conjunction with online music. The first, a 1976 revision of the Copyright Act, made duplication of any copyrighted materials legal for educational purposes and non-commercial intent (Jost 773). The second law is the 1992 law, or the Audio Home Recording Act, which legalized duplication of audiotapes for back-up purposes (Jost 774). MP3 advocates believe that these laws support their cause, stating that any copying of copyrighted material (compact discs included) is legal as long as no profit is made from such actions. Yet those who support anti-MP3 laws say that the duplication of CDs and downloading of MP3s reduces the value of the works, thus violating copyright laws. It is difficult to say who is right in this argument, but looking at recent sales statistics may disprove one side of the argument. Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA) President Cary Sherman made the statement that “online piracy was the main cause of a seven percent dip in CD shipments this year,” but refuses to release their full study results (Music 1). The RIAA also released a study that told of a six percent increase in sales of full-length audio CDs in the United States and almost a ten percent rise in the value of CDs sold in 2000 (Alderman 152).

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