A cliched topic

Note: At the outset, let me say that my aim here is neither to preach, nor to make anyone feel guilty. This is just to make us aware of the choices we make either knowingly, or unknowingly.

I love music. Who doesn't. I pay for the music I listen to. So do a few people I know, most of whom are passionate music lovers. But not everyone does. I simply don't understand it. A vast majority of otherwise-ethical people choose to engage in piracy. So here are are my thoughts on this.

1)We seem to be willing to pay for stuff that pleases our other 4 senses. We pay for a body massage (touch), we pay to view spectacular dance performances(sight), we pay for tasty food (taste), we pay for the mesmerizing perfumes. Would we walk away without paying if we enjoyed anyone of these luxuries? No. Then why don't we pay for a treat to the ears? The answer, strangely brings technology into the picture. It just so happens that the technology to duplicate music is inexpensive. You can stores loads of songs in a CD. mp3 occupies so litle space, so you can virtually make copies for free. So that brings about another unpleasant question - If many of us steal music since its easy , would we steal a whole lot of other stuff if it were easy to do so ?

2) When we choose to not buy something that we listen to , we choose to deprive some people(the artist, producer, the music company...) of the money they have rightfully earned. To me, that is no different from stealing. The first time someone duplicates a copy knowing it is illegal, they probably do feel guilty, but soon it becomes a habit to an extent that taking mp3s from friends becomes the most natural thing in the world.

3)"But, it so damn expensive !" - That's no excuse for stealing. Since piracy is so rampant, music companies would have figured that for each cd that sells, there are thousands of people listening to it. If piracy didn't exist, prices would almost certainly be much lower.

4)I find it very strange that musicians/singers who claim to admire originality and creativity choose to do this. Dont they realize that there are so many budding artists who are struggling to make ends meet, simply because of piracy. Everyone's probably listening to their work, but no-one seems to be buying it.

5)There are no excuses for indulging in piracy. It is illegal. If technology hadn't advanced as much, and if an usb cost us 50K, piracy would be lot less rampant. But if our ethics and character depend on technological progress, I think it's a sorry situation to be in.

6) Do what you like. You don't need to answer to anyone, except for your conscience.

7)I'm not going to ask the reader or anyone else whether or not they indulge in piracy. So all my friends can be rest assured that I'm not going to make them feel guilty or embarassed.

Whenever we choose to do something, we choose to not do something else.