Welcome Tissue World: 12월 2015

Heeju Park

EW2 - 020

December 4, 2015

Should People Who Download Music Illegally Be Punished?

1. Study: Kids Download Illegal Music Because They Can

As media industry becomes more and more digitalized, downloading music illegally are reaching a serious level. It is called “Songlifting”. The compound word “Songlifting” is formed from the words “Song” and “Shoplifting”. [1] This is a problem related to intellectual property. Was it so wrong for people who violate intellectual property to punish? In my opinion, people who download or copy music illegally should be strictly punished because it is to protect the right of the producer and consumer. First of all, paying for the MP3 files we download is way to ensure the divine right of producer and to punish these people is the only way to protect their right. There is no difference between MP3 files and products, but people don't realize that songlifting is serious offence because of the convenience of internet. According to Statistics Korea, which researches about every area of society in Korea, 74 percentage of people who randomly selected sample of 1000 people aged between 18 and 50 don't feel guilty for downloading music illegally. [2] Also, Yougyun Ham, a professor at the School of Digital Media Contents for the University of Konkuk, Korea, said, “There has been either no proper punishment or minuscule punishment on the issue.” [3] Producers are having a hard time in music download market. According to the analysis about music market development, which was reported by Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) in 2014, revenue from music download is two times less than 2008. [4] Some people who download or copy music illegally think MP3 files are too expensive and rationalize stealing of digital contents. However, pricing MP3 files for protecting their rights is essentially right. Of course, people can purpose to adapt to suit price, but that doesn’t mean it is free. Second, if punishment couldn’t implement properly, people who paid MP3 files might be damaged. If they see someone who download illegally, they would feel unfair and be more likely to violate the right of producer. According to Statistics Korea, the rate of experience in downloading MP3 files online in 2014 fell 21.8 percent and became 50.1 percent. [5] Some people say, songlifting is unstoppable stream. However, unless they propose alternative way to use music files with guarding the right of producer and consumer, their claims are harder to accept. For these two reasons, in order to protect producers and consumers, it is important to enhance punishment of downloading music illegally and to set clear criterion for violation. I think relevant authority should shut down illegal music file-sharing site and develop how to encrypt music files not to copy. Of course, besides these punishments, it will be helpful to conduct a campaign or to educate students to be acknowledged the seriousness of illegal downloads.