Finding a new tune

As of this writing, there are 4,098,614 users signed on to the KaZaa network, sharing 889,946,455 files. Not all these users are American, not all the files they possess are under copyright and some users have permission to host content online. Nonetheless, many of them are college students copying popular music without permission — exactly the group RIAA hopes to deter with its recent round of lawsuits.

These facts beg a question: Why are so many people willing to break the rules? Computers and the Internet make it easy to get something for nothing, and a small part of the population would choose to do so under any circumstances. But, in most contexts, the majority of people want to follow the rules — we generally aren't out to break the law whenever we can get away with it. Why do so many people feel comfortable downloading music, while feeling remarkably little (if any) guilt?

We see two reasons.

First, even if cost were not an issue, there would be some benefits to downloading music rather than buying a CD. Online, you can get the music you want right away. You can assemble any combination of songs, and play through them in any order you choose. You can store tens of thousands of songs in a space the size of a single textbook. These are all things people value, and right now, the only way to get them is to break the rules.

Second, many people don't think the current rules are legitimate. Record labels and music stores have made headlines for conspiring to raise CD prices, while strong-arming artists into lopsided distribution agreements. Many people aren't willing to pay $20 for a CD under the circumstances.

The music industry can keep targeting individuals who copy songs online, but that will only take them so far. At the end of the day, people will always be able to copy music with computers.

If they want to stem the current tide of unauthorized copying, record labels have two options. They must either persuade people that the current rules are fair, or devise new ones that address the abuses of the current system and provide the benefits of online music sharing while allowing musicians and labels to profit from their work. — The Daily Princetonian Opinion Board