To share or not to share?

The shutting down of LimeWire has been a long time coming. Napster, Grokster and countless other file-sharing sites have been shut down due to misuse. A judge has stepped in with a court ordered injunction that demands the site permanently stop any file sharing. As a musician I believe this could be the right thing to do but as a consumer I’m fairly torn about the decision. One of the reasons is a lady by the name of Jamie Thomas-Rasset.

This mother from Minnesota has been in the news since 2007 for reportedly violating copyright laws on 24 songs. While she did break the law I don’t feel that the punishment fits the crime. It seems as though Jamie is being targeted by the music industry giants to pay a reported $1.5 million for reasons unknown. I understand as a musician that artists and companies that invest in them want to see profits but in this case I believe the amount they are asking for is a bit outrageous.

One of the reasons these companies are asking so much in compensation is to make an example of Jammie but in the end this plan could backfire. Many people believe that shutting down sites that share files as well as handing down such heavy fines could decrease record sales even more for companies. Many people are just as tired of major record companies trying to police ever bit of the internet almost as equally as people are tired of governments strong hold on rights. Some would say that the decisions to shut down LimeWire as well as the heavy fines for Jammie are equally unconstitutional. Both decisions say something about the responsibility of the government to be fair and just.

Jammie like many others has shared and downloaded many songs from her computer not realizing the full ramifications of that action. Like Jammie, many are tired of the government telling them they can’t share music that they have rightfully bought and own. Many people are also considering boycotting buying music because there are so many other ways to hear music besides buying it. There are sites like YouTube, Pandora, and many other places that allow us to hear music for free. There is no possible way to police the internet fully and it seems as though the freedom of the internet is a thing of the past.

On the other side of the fence the music industry has been hit hard by our economic slump. Smaller record labels are closing their doors and many musicians are struggling to make ends meet just making music. Working for a publishing and clearance company I see just how hard it is for the average label to stay afloat. The major labels are a different story with big artists and deep pockets. It’s a wonder why they are even worried about a single mother sharing music online. Her sharing in the long run is not going to make or break the pockets of these multi-million dollar conglomerates.

The best thing that these labels can do is to settle the case with Jammie for a much more reasonable fee. This fee should remain standard for any case they bring to court for copyright infringement on an individual. Large companies such as LimeWire should also be required to pay a fee but the amount they will supposedly ask for, $450 million, seems to be a bit unreasonable as well. In the end record companies could see major losses in profit if they proceed with targeting individuals such as Jammie because many people that do buy music are boycotting and will continue to boycott buying records if this type of misuse of power continues.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20101027/tc_nf/75798


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20021893-504083.html