We have all read and heard about how the recording industry has aggressively prosecuted internet pirates--suing teenagers and their parents who downloaded copies of songs without paying for them. We have also all heard about how the sales of albums has decreased with the advent of internet and the ability to share files--stores like iTunes may also have changed the market away from buying albums by allowing people to buy just the song that they want.
Well, there is now a new (Web) Sheriff in town. Web Sheriff, a London-based, security firm takes a much different approach to would-be pirates. Web Sheriff uses Twitter and online fan forums to ask internet users to not to post pirated copies of music. In particular, with the run up to the release of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," album, the security firm posted this message: "We would kindly ask you not to post pirated copies of 'Born this Way' on your site. The label, management and artist would greatly appreciate your cooperation. . . . Thank you for respecting the artist's and label's wishes." With such a request, how could anyone not comply with the request?
John Giacobbi, an intellectual property attorney, founded Web Sheriff. He has advocates the soft sell in representing his clients who include Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, Adele, and others. He prefers to persuade rather than hitting music lovers with the cease and desist or litigation stick. He believes, and I think he is correct, that most fans are simply over-exuberant and that the real threat to a copyright owner's rights are the commercial pirates. According to Lawrence Lessig in his book, "Free Culture," there are four types of sharing:
1. Those who use sharing networks as substitutes for purchasing music;
2. Those who use sharing networks to sample before purchasing music;
3. Those who use sharing networks to access content that is no longer sold, but still protected by Copyright or too cumbersome to buy off the internet;
4. Those who use sharing networks to obtain content not protected by Copyright or that the Copyright owner plainly endorses.
The recording industry would aggressively try to stave off this file-sharing and prosecute all involved. It still does, but Web Sheriff's approach seems to be a much better one because the real threat to the recording industry sales are the commercial pirates. As such, Web Sheriff has a zero tolerance policy with those and shuts down the piracy sites.
This may be the tactic that could help the recording industry to begin turning the tables in the "piracy war," by not alienating the end user and focusing on the real internet pirates. Indeed, it appears that download sales have risen and appear to be trending upwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment