Let’s Talk About Music Piracy

Talent is usually God-given but you can work hard for it too. Some aren't really that talented but have harnessed their talent through years of training. Exceptional talent should be shared with everyone because not all are blessed to be as talented as these people are. One of the most followed and adored talent in the world has to do with music. Songs give meaning to our lives and we take delight in listening to them especially when we can relate to the song’s meaning or we simply like the melody. And for the longest time, singers and songwriters have made a living out of their talents. Some even earn millions to billions depending on their music and popularity.

While most of us know how to appreciate music and understand the effort that artists give in order to come up with really good songs, many don’t like buying actual records and pay for the artist’s hard work. Music piracy is a global problem and it is denying countless artists of their right to have ownership over their work and make money from it. They have dedicated their entire lives to making good music only to be pirated by others and leave them penniless and unable to pursue their passion anymore.

Music piracy is on the increase worldwide, with 40 percent of users are accessing unlicensed music, up from 35 percent last year, the global recorded music industry group IFPI said.

Internet search engines are making piracy easier, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a report on Tuesday, calling for government action.

The increase in piracy follows a slump in recent years when policing of the digital music landscape appeared to be clamping down on the practice.

“Copyright infringement is still growing and evolving, with stream ripping the dominant method,” said IPPI chief, Frances Moore.

“With the wealth of licensed music available to fans, these types of illegal sites have no justifiable place in the music world,” she said, calling for greater regulation of the digital music sector.

(Via: http://www.manilatimes.net/music-piracy-increase-worldwide-industry-group/351544/)

It is a shame really that people have no regards for the artists’ livelihood when they pirate their music. This is the only way they make money and if the public has access to their music without paying the amount due to them, then what happens to them after? It is even easier now because of the web’s popularity. Those who want to listen to pirated songs can easily do this by “stream ripping” the content on the web. And the figures right now are far from comforting with 35% of web users doing it, which is up by 5% from the 30% figure last 2016.

The music industry—which has enjoyed a revival in profits after years of stagnation—has been increasingly aggressive in tackling piracy. In 2015, it succeeded in shutting the popular site Grooveshark.

IFPI also said that upload platform YouTube accounts for 46 percent of all the time spent listening to on-demand music but that this dominance was failing to create "fair value" for the music business.

It said the estimated annual revenue for the industry per user from Spotify was around $20 (17 euros), compared to less than $1 per user for YouTube.

The report also revealed the continuing rise in audio streaming.

It found that 45 percent of respondents were now listening to music through a licensed audio streaming service—up from 37 percent in 2016.

(Via: https://phys.org/news/2017-09-music-piracy-worldwide-industry-group.html)

In this case, technology is once again a double-edged sword. In one way, it helps artists improve their music and artistry through the use of various tech gadgets that highlight their natural talents. On one side, though, it is being used against the entire music industry by music pirates who want to enjoy the music of these artists virtually for free.

It’s even more convenient for them to do this today with the rise of the smart technology. Most people now own a smartphone or any smart gadget that allows them to access the web as long as they have data or can connect to a WiFi service. Addressing the problem of music piracy is still a work in progress and everyone involved in the field of music are doing their best to stop piracy from spreading further and giving the artists the remuneration they deserve for all their hard work.

Let’s Talk About Music Piracy was initially published on Iamnotanartist.org Blog

source https://www.iamnotanartist.org/lets-talk-about-music-piracy/