The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has long
argued that it is piracy to upload a copyrighted song to the
internet to make it available to others, or to download such a
song, even if the recording isn't resold.
The major recording companies are alarmed by the rise of
internet piracy and argue that this caused a decline in CD sales of
5% worldwide last year.
The music industry has to date focused its legal efforts on free
file-sharing networks, such as Napster, Morpheus and KaZaA. These
have had no practical effect. Millions of internet users still
download file-sharing applications that allow them to access any
kind of music they want without authorisation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, industry representatives
now plan to target individuals who offer large quantities of songs
for downloading or who provide the directories necessary for
file-sharing.
To succeed, the recording companies will have to track their
copyrighted material on-line and rely on ISPs to obtain the names
of users.
At the same time, US-based Listen.com announced a non-exclusive
licensing agreement with Universal Music Group which means that
Listen.com is the first company with authority to offer on-line the
music catalogues of all five major recording companies.
However, Listen.com’s service, branded as Rhapsody, is only
available to US subscribers, who must pay $10 per month. It is
still unclear whether internet users are willing to pay for music
for as long as there are free alternatives.
