Arrr - The Pirates of Piracy

Today, virtually all internet users own a few—give or take a couple hundred—stolen soundtracks, games, videos and or, all of the above. With the popular combination of high-speed internet, removable disk hard drives, and pocket-sized iPods, illegal online downloading has become a tempting source for obtaining your favorite entertainment.

The word “illegal” doesn’t seem to faze many people due to its easy, convenient, and best of all, free components. For the average pirate, these perks seem to ease both the levels of seriousness and criminal-like activity. Whatever the download is, our youth generation continues to avidly surf—or sail—the web as pirates, stealing whatever gold we please in order to update our iPods, computers, or other technological gizmos.

According to the Times, the average teenager has approximately 800 illegally copied songs on their digital music player and or iPod. Research also shows that the majority of 14 to 24 year-olds would gladly share all the music on their hard drive, enabling others to copy their songs, illegally. Does this mean the majority of youth is nothing but blood-sucking barbarian thieves? Optimistically, no. However, it is obvious that music piracy is an ongoing battle, challenging the very purpose of copyrights.

Like the term suggests, copyright is a legal concept enacted by governments which gives the creator of an original work authorship and exclusive rights to it. When copyrights are infringed upon, artists tend to struggle, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sues at a steep price, while the digital rights management (DRM) strives to implement faulty CDs; alas, a vicious cycle.

So where in this free, addicting, and illegal trap is there any optimism? The answer exists in what most mothers enforce during a fierce and tearful toy tug-of-war between her children: a good, old-fashioned compromise. Yes, a compromise: an agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by mutual concession or modification. Now, unlike between a mother and her bickering children, a scheming pirate versus a powerful legal authority may seem like a difficult matchup. Regardless, the same principles apply. Allow me to formally introduce you: fellow music pirates, say hello to iTunes. Avid game pirates, meet Steam. iTunes and Steam, meet your pirates. Now that you are acquainted, it is simple; legal sharing is caring as the price is lowered, quality is provided, and copyrights are met.

iTunes allows music lovers to preview songs, and purchase entire albums or individual tracks at a reasonable cost. The selection is vast, ranging from teeny-bopper Hannah Montana to grunge-rocking Nirvana. Along with the tracks themselves, quality, speed, and album artwork is a guarantee. Similarly, Steam is a massive library which allows users to download and play immediately after purchasing the game at a fair price. Steam acts as a community, allowing gamers to play, chat, and compete with one another. With a little compromise, price equals perks. So pirates, walk the plank.