Tess Grogan, Jon Kunkel, Matt Shumacher, Samantha Skinner, Lauren French

Outline of PowerPoint Presentation

Tess Grogan, Jon Kunkel, Matt Shumacher, Samantha Skinner, Lauren French

• Introduction: Give a brief definition of music pirating, how the Internet piracy craze began (Napster and Metallica), and why it is so relevant today (Mega Upload, PIPA, SOPA, etc).
• Timeline:Show/explain a timeline of music piracy, focusing mostly on the past 15 years but also some history of copyright law before the Internet, in order to demonstrate how the conceptualization of the Internet did not exist when these laws were written. [Jon Kunkel]
• Legalities: Explain a few music copyright laws in simple terms, and how they are being violated when we download pirated music. Draw parallels between other forms of file sharing (making a copy of a CD for a friend, recording a song off the radio using a tape deck, etc). Discuss where lines get fuzzy, reiterating the inability for these laws to conceptualize the capacity of the Internet at the time they were written. [Tess Grogan]
• Record Companies: Discuss the reasoning record companies give the public for lawsuits. Explain why pirating music online is so threatening to record labels (or is it?). Cite a few examples of big lawsuits over online piracy. [Matt Shumacher]
• Artists: Examine “up and coming” artists vs. established artists. Give some examples of established artists who are against piracy, and explain their reasoning. Also give some examples of established artists in favor of online piracy (Joss Stone, the Foo Fighters, Skrillex) and explain their reasoning as well. Draw upon personal interviews with local artists and what they think. [Samantha Skinner]
• Pirates: Give some general opinions of pirates. Explain who pirates, why people pirate, and why people support it. Discuss specific cases young teens have been targeted for prosecution, and the public reaction to this. [Lauren French]
• Conclusion: Summarize the information we have given. Conclude that lawsuits have not scared the public enough to end online piracy, and that record labels have not yet found a better solution to address piracy. The industry has, however, begun to evolve to take piracy into account. As long as the Internet is around, piracy is inevitable and cannot be policed entirely.