The Mis-Adventures of Illegal Downloading

One time I was king. I had it all. I was one of the very first in Sacramento to get a cable modem back at the end of 1999. The immense speed compared to dial up was addictive. Later that year, I discovered Napster. I downloaded everything I could find. I wasn't after songs really off of albums. I was more into the live or rare stuff you couldn't buy unless it was on an import from Europe or Asia. Who knew then if it was legal to even have those copies. Some time the next fall, U2 played a concert to introduce their new album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and they broadcasted a radio show. Before the show had ended on radio in New York live, I had half of it downloaded off of Napster. That was flat out crazy! Then later on I discovered KaZaa and I was getting videos and games and all sorts of stuff. Then one day about 2 years ago I woke up and said, "Why?" Why did I beat down an industry that I supported so very much? I even went so far to get a degree in Music Business at the University of the Pacific, pack up and move to LA to get in to the business. Now later on, I am downloading all of it for free.

Reality check, is it really free? Hell, no and really it is quite illegal, but not that you'd notice. In fact, if you are busted for it, you can have a huge fine and jail time. You could spend more time in jail than Mike Tyson did for raping a woman. Title 17 of the US Code states all the rights you have as the owner of a copyright. You have the abilities to earn money, perform it publically, reproduce it, display it and distribute it. This is where the conflict stood with me when I discovered what I was doing with all this illegal downloading. What about the poor rock star who you were basically stealing from? I mean, seriously, would you break into Puffy's house and steal his Bentley. No. Would you steal from you best friend? Just as easily you'd answer no. What is the difference then?

Artist and musicians and creative writers, like authors, screenwriters and even directors spend years perfecting their craft for one soul purpose. To entertain all us. What is one thing we all do when relax? We turn on an electronic device in our houses to broadcast music, movies or TV just to unwind, educate ourselves or to discontinue some sort of monotony that goes on in our daily lives. Life would be quite boring without some form of entertainment. So why do we steal it?

The problem lies with America, and everyone thinking they have some magic rights to everything free. The power to abuse comes so easily, we forget how we got it in the first place. Talk to anyone who downloads stuff illegally and they'll tell you they aren't hurting anything or they can't afford the music or they just flat out don't care what the law or what the creative people say about it. The reality is, if we are getting the stuff for free why would the industry continue to produce it? I think if I were an up and coming artist, I may feel a bit dejected to see my work spread around the world like a wild fire in Southern California because I just couldn't control it. It's almost as if you went to work and discovered all the hard work you did was being taken credit for by someone else. You'd be so upset and in fact, you'd probably quit and do something else. How can a musician or writer just quit and work for someone else, like we could, when their name is bigger than the company they work for?

Hmm... Maybe it's just me and my Jimmy Stewart-like world I live in but nothing beats the pleasure of buying a cd at Tower on the day of it's release, going to the movies with my wife and friends or renting a DVD on a cold blustery day.