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By Jo Best, 15 July 2003 07:00

NEWS silicon.com's readers have been debating the rights and wrongs of music piracy over the past week, with opinions varying from those who put the phenomenon down to the greed of music companies to those who blame the greed of file-sharers. The issue of music piracy has been back in the news with the demise of free music favourite MP3.com, which suffered after it was hit by a raft of compensation claims three years ago. Unlike software pirates, who have long been in the sights of the law, the 60 million or so web users who get their music for free are only just beginning to feel the pinch, with a handful now facing a day in court. While the venom directed by readers at file-sharers wasn't quite as harsh as that heaped on the software pirates – no mention of jail terms or capital punishment this time - the majority still came down against music piracy. A typical example came from Julius Hack, who said: "Music piracy is not okay and never has been. What makes it appear legal is the delivery technology, which gives people what they want, when they want it." The snowballing growth of music piracy is a backlash to the industry's artificially high prices, reckons Geoff Harrison. He wrote: "While I wouldn't go so far as to say that piracy is OK, I do sense a sort of 'Serves you right for ripping us off' attitude amongst many people who engage in this activity…The wailing and gnashing of teeth over so-called copyright theft has very little to do with protecting artists' rights and everything to do with money." The issue of money – or rather the over-inflated cost of CDs – is at the heart of most people's championing of free download sites. "A CD cost far less than £12 or so to produce, even after everyone's salary has been paid. The record companies are seen to be making big money out of consumers who have little or no choice," said musician Richard Ash. So what's the solution? It's up to big business, and not consumers, to alter its behaviour, is the opinion of Glenn Thigpen. He said: "The internet is changing the way so many things are being done and when things change a business or organisation must either change and adapt or go the way of the dinosaur." Consumers are willing to pay for their music but only if they feel they're getting a fair deal. He added: "Apple's iTunes initiative proves that people WILL pay for downloadable music if the price is right." Gonzalo Talamantes also put the blame for the growth of the trend squarely at the feet of the music companies themselves, who ignored the possibilities of internet music distribution for too long. "What the recording industry needed to do was jump on board with this new means of distribution. With the technology in its infancy they could have developed a means of securing compensation. This means of music distribution will not stop and the recording industry will pay dearly for intimidating an entire generation of people," he said. The last word goes to musician Richard Ash, who pointed out that while the internet facilitates getting music for nothing, it definitely didn't start it: "People have always taped radio programmes but were impossible to catch. Now it is easier to monitor the internet, so the corporations are out to make more money." If Bruno Brookes talking over the start of every track didn't deter the free music movement some 20 years ago, what hope do Sony and the rest have today? What's your opinion? Email your comments to editorial@silicon.com and let us know what you think.