Music piracy. Both the issue and the term are hotly contested. When record labels talk about “piracy,” are they referring to actual, piratical acts of theft, or are they talking about natural, helpful sharing within a community?
And who says music sharing should be illegal, anyhow?
Free software activist Richard Stallman certainly wouldn’t say so. Stallman started the Free Software Foundation based on four principles.
- Information, such as computer software, should be freely accessible.
- The information should be free to modify.
- The information should be free to share with others.
- The information should be free to change and redistribute copies of the changed software.
While not all of these principles apply to music, he says, some of them should apply. And a lot of music fans musicians tend to agree with him. In many ways, the corporate side of the music industry’s attitude toward musical content mimics Microsoft’s or Adobe’s or Apple’s attitude toward software. This attitude often does nothing to help those who create or those who enjoy the content in question; it does everything to make money for the corporations who oversee licensing and purchase fees.
What’s your opinion: Do you ever download and share music files illegally? How about legally — do you find and share free music online? Do you think all music sharing should be free and legal, or do you think there’s still a case to be made for keeping “piracy” of tunes illegal?
You can check out our previous interview questions with Stallman in our archives.
Note: Stallman asked that we use Ogg Theora, an open format, for encoding this video. To download the original video, go to its Wikimedia page. This video is published under a Creative Commons-No Derivatives license.
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