Week 11 - Is downloading Movies/Music wrong?

The lecture this week was mainly about the ethical dilemma of whether its right to download movies and music. Steve asked for peoples opinions on this matter, and the general consensus was that downloading music was alright, however some had opposing views. Adam thought it was stealing. We watched a movie called Steal this Film 2, which explored the pirating phenomenon that has close ties to the middle ages, when certain information was strictly controlled by the powerful groups of the time (especially the clergy). Back then, the Bible had to be copied by hand, until the Gutenberg printing press allowed easy mass production. So today, it could be argued that we have a right to access information.

The reading this week dealt with similar ideas from the lecture. It was from a blogger who used to work in the recording industry. He said that record companies wasted lots of money on albums - thus their exorbitant price. But the main point he drove home was that the record companies stubbornly stick with an archaic system of CD retail selling, instead of embracing the new norm of peer to peer sharing - or more appropriately for them - online mp3 sales. It goes to show that one way or another, technology will shift methods of distribution of information - and no corporate fat cat can stop it.

This week I the tutorial there was no assigned task, however we still had a good discussion on the issue of downloading games and movies. Chris the tutor was especially pointed about his opinion on downloading. He contended that we do in essence pay for music we download from the internet because we get charged for our downloads. Unsurprisingly, only one person thought downloading music was wrong. Downloading is embedded in our culture now, and despite its questionable legality, people do it en masse. Record companies need to cater for the online generation – though it might too late.