Music Piracy

Stealing is illegal in all fifty states, whether it is a candy bar from the local gas station, a shirt from the mall, or music on the internet. Downloading music without purchasing it is illegal, immoral, and disrespectful to the artists who’re making the music. It prevents up-and-coming artists from establishing a profitable career, as well as threatens the livelihood of the millions of people working in the music industry.

Many may argue the Robin Hood analogy, saying that the artists make more money than they need to, but what many don’t realize is that the artists aren’t the only ones whose paycheck comes from record sales.

"A lot more goes into a CD than it may appear. The price of a CD doesn’t just go back to the record company. Everyone who works with me to record and distribute my music makes a living and supports their families from CD sales as well. It’s a big network of people from my co-producer, the engineers, my band all the way to assembly line people who help to manufacture the CDs and the truck drivers who get them to the stores. There are now legitimate websites that provide an alternative to illegal burning. I want to encourage my listeners to use these sites and to buy instead of burning illegally. On behalf of the team who works alongside me, we’d appreciate it," says Steven Curtis Chapman, a religious singer.

The following is a breakdown of the cost of a typical major-label release by the independent market-research firm Almighty Institute of Music Retail shows where the money goes for a new album with a list price of $15.99.
• $0.17 Musicians’ unions
• $0.80 Packaging/manufacturing
• $0.82 Publishing royalties
• $0.80 Retail profit
• $0.90 Distribution
• $1.60 Artists’ royalties
• $1.70 Label profit
• $2.40 Marketing/promotion
• $2.91 Label overhead
• $3.89 Retail overhead

Save the music industry – stop pirating! (Music piracy is any form of unauthorized duplication and/or distribution of music including downloading, file sharing, and CD-burning.)

-Lauren Matovina