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Our Blogs The BeerFiles Record industry versus 16 year old becomes music piracy test case
Our Blogs The BeerFiles Record industry versus 16 year old becomes music piracy test case | Record industry versus 16 year old becomes music piracy test case |
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| Written by Stan Beer | |
| Thursday, 01 February 2007 | |
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Young Santangelo's mother, the original target of the recording industry, has already become somewhat of a folk hero after successfully forcing the industry to drop its case. Now the industry has gone after her youngest son, who was reportedly just 11 when he allegedly downloaded music illegally. While the music industry rightly maintains that piracy is hitting both artists and the record companies where it hurts, it needs to be careful not to bite the hand that feeds it. The proliferation of legal online download sites such as iTunes has shown that people are prepared to pay for music downloads. It also shows that probably the most effective way to combat piracy is to make online music affordable and easy to access. Just like in the old days, when consumers used to make illegal cassette copies of their friends' vinyl record albums, piracy will never go away completely. However, there are many who would prefer to buy tracks or pay cheap monthly subscriptions in preference to going the illegal route. Going after individuals is not going to scare away the pirate downloaders. However, it could very well alienate a paying public growing increasingly cynical about what many view as a greedy cartel.{moscomment}
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