The Piracy Crusade: How the Music Industry's War on Sharing Destroys Markets and Erodes Civil Liberties

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AuthorAram Sinnreich
PublisherUniversity of Massachusetts Press
PublishedDec 17 2013
Book FormatPaperback
ISBN-139781625340528
Dimensions9.07 X 6.02 X 0.74 inches
Weight 0.86 pounds
BISAC
CategoriesLaw > Intellectual Property - General
LanguageEnglish

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Book Description

In the decade and a half since Napster first emerged, forever changing the face of digital culture, the claim that internet pirates killed the music industry has become so ubiquitous that it is treated as common knowledge. Piracy is a scourge on legitimate businesses and hard-working artists, we are told, a cybercrime similar to identity fraud or even terrorism. In The Piracy Crusade, Aram Sinnreich critiques the notion of piracy as a myth perpetuated by today's cultural cartels--the handful of companies that dominate the film, software, and especially music industries. As digital networks have permeated our social environment, they have offered vast numbers of people the opportunity to experiment with innovative cultural and entrepreneurial ideas predicated on the belief that information should be shared widely. This has left the media cartels, whose power has historically resided in their ability to restrict the flow of cultural information, with difficult choices: adapt to this new environment, fight the changes tooth and nail, or accept obsolescence. Their decision to fight has resulted in ever stronger copyright laws and the aggressive pursuit of accused infringers. Yet the most dangerous legacy of this piracy crusade is not the damage inflicted on promising start-ups or on well-intentioned civilians caught in the crosshairs of file-sharing litigation. Far more troubling, Sinnreich argues, are the broader implications of copyright laws and global treaties that sacrifice free speech and privacy in the name of combating the phantom of piracy--policies that threaten to undermine the foundations of democratic society.

Author Bio

Dr. Aram Sinnreich is a Professor and chair of the Communication Studies division at American University’s School of Communication. Sinnreich’s work focuses on the intersection of culture, law and technology, with an emphasis on subjects such as surveillance, critical data studies, intellectual property, remix culture, and music.

He is the author of three books: Mashed Up (2010), The Piracy Crusade (2013), and The Essential Guide to Intellectual Property (2019). He has also written for publications including The New York Times, Billboard, Wired, The Daily Beast, and The Conversation.

Research Interests

I have been publishing peer-reviewed scholarly research, public interest research, and market research since the 1990s. Common subjects include digital media industries, intellectual property, musical and sound cultures, privacy and surveillance, critical data studies, and internet governance.

Education