Universities in the United States are cautioning students against the legal dangers of file sharing after the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began tossing around lawsuits.
Many freshman have to endure student orientations that offer guidelines and rules about university life and underage drinking... but they must now also sit through discussions regarding file sharing and some of the legal ramifications from sharing copyrighted files.
I've covered file sharing since Shawn Fanning created Napster in 1998; an event that helped modernize file sharing among Internet users, which made it possible for everyone to become familiar with file sharing. Since the downfall of Napster, a snowball effect has led file sharing to grow into an even bigger problem for the government and industry to try and battle.
Since the days of Napster, dozens of other peer-to-peer programs have launched in Napster's place, and more than 30,000 John Doe lawsuits have been filed against alleged file sharers. Under the Copyright Act, fines for each uploaded copyrighted music track can reach $150,000, though most settlements have been for a few thousand dollars.
Students, whether they are listening to their Apple iPod MP3 player, have it bumping in a car stereo, or are playing it through speakers at a party, are listening to a lot of illegal music. While many people have been sued by the RIAA, including people later found to be deceased, college students have received the most heat by the industry trade group.
I won't actively condone file sharing, but something has to be done to help draw students away from illegal P2P networks to legal file sharing services. And no, I don't believe suing file sharers, especially with notorious scare tactics, is the ideal way to bring about a mini-revolution among college students.
The U.S. government has stepped in with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which will help put more responsibility on universities, who mainly distribute pre-settlement notices and shut off Internet to alleged file sharers.
I don't expect the controversial provisions in the HEOA to actually help reduce file sharing among college students, but the RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have increased pressure on the government to help them stop file sharing.
I certainly do not think filing thousands of lawsuits against music listeners is the right strategy for success. It's obvious that although digital music sales through Apple iTunes and other services continue to be popular choices, that P2P music sharing is still booming -- and the lawsuits aren't working, yet the MPAA and even game studios are beginning to file lawsuits against file sharers.
The evolution of digital music has turned a small niche market into a multi-billion dollar industry, with Apple iTunes selling more than 5 billion songs. In 2007, the sale of digital music across the world reached $2.9 billion, a 40 percent increase over the previous year. Online music is most popular in the United States, South Korea and Germany, where mobile music is just now beginning to pick up.
As you can see, a high level of confusion and misinformation surrounds file sharing and digital music, and it's getting even more complicated. In the next file sharing editorial I write, expect deeper analysis into file sharing from several special guest commentators.
