While searching for the image I included in the previous post, I stumbled on a brilliant comic in which two people are hovering over the computer and discussing the economic side of internet piracy. The first person said something like, “So you have this thousand dollar computer and this hundred dollar a month internet connection and you’re getting…?” The second person grinned and said, “Free music, baby!” Or something of that sort.
Unfortunately, when I went back to find that cartoon, it had utterly and completely disappeared. So I found a similar one, in which a salesclerk is telling a woman, “We don’t sell CD’s anymore. We sell colorful jackets for the music you download illegally.”
This, obviously, is a comic strip, which means it’s supposed to be humorous (in this case, humorous in an ironic sort of way). The style is simple and it is drawn in black and white, leaving the words to be the most significant part of the picture. I found this comic on the web (in case you’re wondering about context), and on a stock comic site, so I’m not sure how much that says about it.
As I mentioned, this comic is a satire of the problem of illegal downloading. It insinuates by exaggeration that as illegal downloading continues to grow in popularity and usage, music stores will be pretty much useless (and will only carry colorful jackets). However, each jump in technology (records to tapes, tapes to CDs) has caused fear concerning the music industry. While it is true that this age is the first time in which people can get music by paying nothing, many people are convinced that it isn’t as bad as the authorities say.
While I do think that it is bad for the music industry to download music illegally, somehow I feel that the artists aren't being affected by it as much as it is hyped up to be....they still live pretty lavish lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brenden. I do not think it is affecting artists as much as they claim. Although, I still feel it is wrong because it is essentially stealing another person's property. I think we need to forget about how rich they are and consider: would we want someone to do the same to us? In which case, the answer would probably be no.
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