What’s the download?
Music industry cracking down on students who download illegally
- posted: 05 June 2007
- scrolllifestyle@byui.edu
The ongoing epidemic of illegally downloaded music on campuses nationwide has forced the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to crack down on college students with fines up to $7.87 per song.
Anna Jo Bratton, Associated Press Writer, researched the punishment of one student who was caught for downloading. She notes that a 20-year-old freshman from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Sarah Barg, was charged $3,000 for downloading 381 songs.
“So far this year, the music industry’s trade group has sent out hundreds of complaints to students, pressured school administrators to take tougher anti-piracy measures, and tried shaming colleges into doing better by putting out a list of the top offending schools like UCLA and Purdue,” according to the Washington Post.
Despite the threats, some students aren’t getting nervous about it. “I don’t fear getting caught because I don’t download my music from file-sharing sites. I get the majority of my music from my friends,” said Luke Dyer, a senior from Salem, Ore.
More than 60 college campuses were targeted as problematic and were sent letters from the recording industry group threatening lawsuits if issues are not settled out of court. Most students were using university networks under their own names, and IP addresses were used to identify them.
The RIAA is not taking downloading lightly. “Any student on campus in the country who is illegally downloading music may receive one of these letters in the coming months,” said Jenni Engebretsen, an RIAA spokeswoman.
The Honor Code office takes a firm stance on the downloading of movies and music.
“You better own the original copy or you violate the copyright. It’s cheating, it’s dishonest and it’s stealing money from the artists. Even the church handbook requires permission in order to copy the music,” said Michael T. Lehman, director of the student Honor Code Office.
Lehman said that unbeknownst to many, several BYU-I students have been approached by the school and had their downloading activities shut down.
“We can track down students through their IP address, and if [students] cooperate with us, then we don’t take any disciplinary action,” Lehman said.
Letters have been sent to BYU-I by music agencies demanding that action take place or they will step in with lawsuits.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand the severity of downloading because it’s so commonplace. With such easy access, it’s hard for people not to download,” said Jared Morasco, a senior from San Diego, Calif.
According to ITFacts Music, global sales of pirated music generated $4.5 billion dollars in 2003. In addition, 67 percent of music fans steal music and 75 percent say that CDs are too expensive.
Engebretsen said that up to 500 university students nationwide have paid the outside settlements to the RIAA to avoid being sued. If not settled outside of court, students could pay $750 for each copyrighted recording.
“I honestly think that everyone has some sort of downloaded form of music. I think that for these agencies to target specific students is not going to solve the problem as a whole,” said Jessi Cumins, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The efforts of the music agencies are diligent; however, many students don’t feel they’ll be targeted for their downloading.
“I’m not afraid of getting caught for downloading music because the only music I ever download is from Pure Volume, where the artists post their songs themselves. My music is less mainstream; therefore, I don’t have a problem with downloading illegally,” Cumins said. 
