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On Jan. 19, the file sharing service Megaupload was shut down by federal prosecutors after its employees were indicted.
According to The New York Times, the indictment claims more than $500 million in lost revenue because of pirated media. Megaupload was a file sharing service that, like many others, simply allowed users to upload content to share with anyone who has a link to said files.
The service was free but by paying for a membership, users could gain access to quicker downloads and larger file sizes.
Essentially, it was an extremely easy way to share things like music and movies. Content wasn't well moderated and, though files were deleted on a periodic basis, virtually anyone could gain access to anything uploaded. So while it was a great, free service to send files much larger than most email services can accept, everyone ever could download your stuff.
It should be no surprise that I support file sharing. For smaller artists, file sharing is a fantastic way to get their music out there. For their last record, The JV All Stars released their album "Hold On To This" on multiple file sharing platforms, including Megaupload.
The whole point was to release their album to their fans before their final show, so fans could celebrate their career as a band. Other bands have purposefully leaked their albums in an attempt to gain a larger fan base. This is a somewhat successful business model that seems to be proving itself more and more useful every day.
The problem with groups like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is that they assume their audiences won't spend any money at all if they pirate media. In reality, music and movie fans will pirate and spend money. It's like Pete Wentz: goes both ways.
The majority of the record industry isn't getting its money from CD sales anymore. Fans are buying more vinyl as a way to have collectors' items in their possession. Plus, vinyl is just sexy. People like the novelty and audio experience of it all.
Larger acts, like Beastie Boys, Radiohead and They Might Be Giants have released vinyl records as a result of the rebirth of the market. That's right, I'll say it: Something good for the music industry is a direct result of the hipster boom.
Live shows will always be a fantastic way for bands to make money. Yeah, the scene sucks for the most part. But kids will still come out to shows, as long as promoters and bars are doing their jobs and bands are making genuinely good music.
Some of my best experiences playing in a band have been playing on tour where we had fans in cities we've never been or have only been to once. This was a reality because we released our record for free on a web service much like Megaupload.
Bandcamp is a better, more "legitimate" venue for these kinds of music outlets. Thanks to sharing our album online then selling a vinyl copy, we were able to not only reach a huge demographic we wouldn't have otherwise, but we were able to successfully tour for a month on the road.
It's sad to see large corporations that make obscene amounts of money get upset over supposed lost revenue that clearly doesn't affect them.
They are still able to be extremely successful despite the economic downturn. It's even somewhat ironic that the smaller acts are able to benefit from utilizing these sources to gain a stronger fan base.
These minor outfits see the potential in using the technology as a benefit to promoting their art, not making a quick buck.
Neil Orians is a senior fine arts major and proud to admit he illegally downloaded "Teenage Dream."
Reach him at neilorians@dailynebraskan.com.
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