In the advent of the digital age internet piracy has been a hot topic for many law makers and pretty much any company that has a fiduciary interest in almost any type of media. Piracy affects everything from music to software to pictures and has been a major issue in fluctuating profit and revenue streams. With all of these negatives it seems that there are absolutely no advantages to what would be considered “Piracy”; however, piracy has been a major contributor to the success of many established artists.
I know what you are thinking – How can this be true?? Well I’ll explain. In the hip-hop music industry it is a widely accepted practice for DJs to take material recorded by artists and put it on what is called a “mixtape.” A mixtape can contain a variety of different music, but in many cases they contain music that is unreleased and not technically available for retail sale. DJs then distribute these mixtapes in a variety of ways including unauthorized retail sales, passing them out after shows, or just offering them as free music in different retail locations. This creates a “buzz’ for artists and is a huge marketing tool that is not directly paid for by any record company or promotion firm. Though this differs from traditional internet piracy, bottom line is, this has been one way that piracy has helped record sales.
These situations coupled with more common internet piracy have lead to the creation of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The RIAA basically attempts to control internet piracy and look out for the financial needs of the recording industry. They have been responsible for numerous record store fines and closures due to the sale of mixtapes purchased from third parties. It seems almost counterintuitive for the RIAA to do this since mixtapes are such a valuable marketing tool.
Though it would be extremely difficult to put an exact figure on the amount of revenue that has been generated based on mixtape promotions, it can be said that this has been a FREE tool that has helped artists gain major recognition. One of the best examples being Drake! It seems somewhat wrong that agencies like the RIAA have been allowed to fine and sue record stores that were giving their artists free promotion.
http://www.riaa.com/index.php
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20101221/rap-mixtapes-101221/
It is easy to understand why the RIAA "cracksdown" on outlets engaging in mixtapes. The unauthorized sale of compiled songs onto a disc packaged and distributed is termed "bootlegging" and it is a form of piracy. It totally violates what the RIAA stands for, but yet, as you mention, has been quite beneficial for the hiphop genre as it creates a buzz for newly emerging artistes up to the point of their album release. It is true that mixtapes do contain exclusive singles or those not be released, but certain well established artistes like Kanye West or Jay-Z, they would rather have their singles being sold digitally and earning royalties than seeing DJ Drama profiting from a mixtape compilation with their song in it. In order to prevent beef amongst the community or law suits (rare, but extreme) some artistes would rather distribute their own music for free. For instance, the G.O.O.D. Fridays music initiative spearheaded by Kanye West himself where every week, he would give away a free track.
ReplyDeleteI agree that piracy is valuable tool for exposure for new artists. I think that record companies and artists should do more to embrace the technology rather than trying to stop the progress of technology. By responding reactively rather than proactively legislation is doomed to trail forever and the battle cannot be won in this way. Piracy should be looked at for its benefits as a tool for exposure. By continuing to fight a losing battle record companies are wasting resources that could be better spent elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point of view. I agree with you that piracy can bring a great exposure for an artist, but I think piracy in general harm more than help. Nonetheless the so called mixtapes have a very small reach compared to internet piracy, that's why, in my opinion, record companies and artists don't bother about pursuing copyrights infringements from DJ's.
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