Youth, Downloading, and theft Oh My! 375 Tapscott

In the section, “In defense of our future” I found #5 on the question of youth encouraged to steal interesting. Tapscott states that the industry is operating on the old model of ownership and that it makes no sense to sell music under the current formats. One thing that really is not addressed is that industry standards have been derived out of greed for one, that’s apparent but moreover, artists have suffered from the industry giants. Some artists I have heard of had their works ripped off by producers, industry corporate, and by other artists despite ethical protocols. Imagine writing a song, script, or play that went to the top ten, box office hit, or Broadway hit! You would be enraged if someone ripped your stuff. This often leaves them out of royalties and credit for their work product and creative license. This falls along the same lines because downloading music and ripping work product are essentially the same, just different degrees. They share a common thread as one is derived out of the other. . It matters!

So ownership and illegal downloading? Where does the industry stand? I agree with Tapscott on a monthly fee (much like satellite radio) would resolve the issue when it comes to music. That would eliminate the need to borrow or share or pirate if you will. I think it went unconstrained with the beginning of the Internet and music. Going after downloader’s is ludicrous and not economical.
As for cheating and plagiarism and the internet I think it is rampart among many age levels. Not just the youth at college as some might think. Working in different industry, I saw many out right copy others work and pass it off as their own to meet deadlines. There is not real system of checks and balances if the corporate office does not follow up. My English 102 Teacher at CBC had a great system on essay’s and research papers. If she suspected you plagiarized, she used some program that she just typed in your questionable paragraphs and it would usually show up connected to an author or website. I think plagiarism is just as abundant as it ever was but is easier to get caught now. It speaks to character as well. If that is who you are, then it will manifest itself throughout your life anyway, whether you get caught or not. And, if you plagiarize the wrong person, you might get sued! Ouch!