Cultures of Music Piracy

Abstract

In 2003, the US recording industry, hoping to change what some view as a ‘culture of piracy’, initiated lawsuits against its own consumers. What is this culture of piracy and what is at stake in trying to change it? In this article, I take an ethnographic look at music file-sharing, and compare the situation in the US with Japan, the second largest music market in the world. My findings are based on fieldwork in Tokyo, and surveys and discussions with US college students. By considering the ways social dynamics and cultural orientations guide uses of digital media technology, I argue that a legal and political focus on ‘piracy’ ignores crucial aspects of file-sharing, and is misleading in the assumptions it makes for policy. A focus on fan participation in media success provides an alternative perspective on how to encourage flourishing music cultures.

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