Argumentative Essay Sample

Introduction

One of the biggest challenges in the music industry is piracy. Ideally, piracy is illegal in almost every country in the world. However, it is very much in common. This explains why sometimes people feel as if downloading music from the internet and copying it from a friend’s collection is rightful thing while it is not. The following essay argues why downloading free music from the internet or copying it from a friend’s CD collection is not right.

Argument

Firstly, copying music from a friend’s collection or downloading it free of charge from the internet is an act of theft of intellectual property. This is owing to the fact that the original owner of the music does not benefit from such an acquisition of music. This is an act of piracy and should not be encouraged (Vandiver, Bowman & Vega 2009, p.92). Ideally, the mass production and sale of music is meant to benefit the owner of the music. Therefore, such an unlawful acquisition fails to bring any substantial benefit to the owner; hence goes contrary to the aim of the music production.  In addition to this, such an act is unlawful since it goes contrary to the copyright laws on music laws. The laws state that the reproduction and sale of the music should only be granted by the authorized bodies which are mainly the musicians and the production houses (Australian copyright council, 2012, p.4). In addition to this, the distribution of digital copies of music is prohibited. From this, it can be acknowledged that copying music from a friend’s CD collection is reproduction of copies while downloading free music from the internet is   an act of distribution of digital copies of music, which is illegal. Therefore, engaging in such acts is illegal, hence not good.

Secondly, an act of copying music from a friend’s collection or downloading it free of charge from the internet is immoral. This is owing to the fact that it goes contrary to the values of the society. By any definition from deontological or kantanian moral theories, this act is immoral hence individuals from desist from engaging in it.

Counters argument

Contrary to this argument, it might be argued that the act of copying music from a friend’s collection or downloading it free of charge from the internet is good based on the argument that it is not actual theft since one does not take the music forcefully from the owner. It might also be argued that the act involves theft from the producer and not the owner since many producers are infringing on the rights of the musician by shortchanging them in contract deals. However, these arguments are wrong, and it should be acknowledged that a mistake is not solved by making another.

Conclusion

From this essay, it can be concluded that copying music from a friend’s collection or downloading it free of charge from the internet is an illegal act since it amounts to piracy. The essay has discussed about several points for this argument and also given a contrary argument. From the essay, it can be concluded that the act is immoral in addition to being illegal, hence it is not good to engage in it.

References

Australian copyright council, 2012.Music & Copyright, Australian Copyright Council, pp.1-8

Vandiver, D., Bowman, S., & Vega, A., 2009. ‘Music Piracy among College Students: An

Examination of Low Self-Control, Techniques of Neutralization, and Rational Choice’, The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 92 – 111