YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A HANDBAG

If you listen to the RIAA, you get the impression that the major factor in falling record sales is online piracy. Ads like those spoofed by the IT Crowd clip below are designed to scare consumers away from illegal download sites.

But while downloading content illegally obviously isn't good, it isn't stealing either. When you steal an object, the person who bought the object no longer has the object. The correct automotive equivalent of downloading an album would be finding a car in the street that an individual has crafted using their own hands from their own design, then creating a copy of it using your matter resequencer.

Some would say that sharing music online is the equivalent of using cassettes to tape the Top 40 from the radio or to copy your latest vinyl for your friend to listen to in the car; a good way to get the message out about a certain band or track but no substitute for owning recordings, and no threat to the industry. Some artists even encourage the listener to download their material illegally.

And the internet pirate isn't likely to be caught either. Millions of Brits have downloaded music illegally, yet so far none have been successfully prosecuted. Thankfully, there are signs that the recording industry is moving away from the RIAA's litigious, confrontational stance of prevention and prosecution and is increasingly looking at more positive alternatives like the ones mentioned in this blog.

So, as consumers, let's encourage them by spending some money on their products. That way, we can support artists as they make new music for us and we can continue to enjoy downloaded music in the traditional shareware "try before you buy" way without fear of reprisals.