新西蘭英語(yǔ) 225 Film and Music Piracy
This week the Commerce Minister has announced there will be a new law to fine people who download films and music from the internet without paying. Illegal downloading is called piracy.
Downloading music illegally is a big problem for the recording industry and the musicians. In 2002, the recording industry made $120m in profits but this year only $50m. The recording industry includes the companies who make the CDs, the shops which sell the CDs and of course the artists, the singers and other musicians. These people cannot make a living if we do not pay for the music. It is the same for the film industry.
The government’s first idea was for the internet service providers (ISPs) like Telecom or Telstra Clear to cut the internet from anyone illegally downloading music or film. ISPs did not want to be responsible for this. Now the government has a new idea. Musicians will be responsible. They will find the IP address of anyone downloading their music illegally and will give that IP address to the ISP. The ISP will contact these people and give them a warning. After three warnings, the musicians can take these people to court and they could be fined up to $15,000 and lose their internet for six months.
It is not very expensive to download music legally through something like iTunes or digiRAMA. If you really enjoy the music of one person or a group, you can even buy a CD from a shop. This way you can help musicians to earn a living.
