Something that particularly gets on my nerves is when people shun, kid and laugh at the idea of purchasing music legitimately. Just the other day, I was in a conversation with a group of friends and the subject of discussion shifted to music.

I brought up the question of whether they purchase music. They looked at me puzzled, then they snickered. “Buy music? Are you kidding me?” When I asked them, “You mean you don’t purchase music? Not once?”, they burst into laughter. “Who buys music? Just go download for free!”

It was then that I realised something was going wrong with our society. Instead of admiring, respecting and taking example from people who legitimately purchase music, they choose to ridicule and poke fun of them. “Why would anyone buy music? It’s just a waste of money.”

One song on Amazon is just 99 cents. Yet many reason that they are not rich enough to be paying for music. Some even go on to say that the artistes are wealthy already. These are incorrect perceptions that we should change. While I do understand that some are not in the capacity to pay for all six thousand songs in their music library, surely it isn’t too much to pay for the singles that you particularly enjoy most? At the very least, you recognize and contribute back to the artistes.

How do you feel about stealing the products of hard work from your favourite artistes?

The average Joe should know that not every artiste are rich and famous. There is a reason why many of our local performers are not able to hit big successes. It is because Malaysians simply don’t find it viable to pay for music that they acquire.

It’s interesting to note the two general categories of piracy: piracy as a last resort and piracy as an alternative. Piracy as a last resort is when people pirate a product which they couldn’t and wouldn’t purchase if there was no bootlegged version anyway. These are often very expensive products, for example a copy of Adobe Creative Suite which are well over a thousand dollars. On the other hand, piracy as an alternative is when people pirate for convenience despite having the capacity to purchase legally. This is where music piracy finds itself.

Many people often fail to recognize software as a form of product, mostly because they cannot physically “see” it. This is why they would rather spend their money on a cup of Starbucks, than on their favourite song for half the price. Hello, your dog did not compose that song for you!

Show some respect to these artistes. They need to earn and make a living too. I know of many performers who even have to juggle with other jobs in order to stay afloat. Only the ignorant and selfish wouldn’t acknowledge that fact. In order to form a stronger perspective on this matter, I’ve interviewed several friends.

Ellie Chee regards music as art and a form of expression from an artiste to share masterpieces with the world. “They deserve every rightful credit for their talents and efforts. Downloading them illegally would mean that we’re literally stealing their rights and hard work.” She also advised, “You were born an original, don’t die a copy.”

Azrin Arizz wouldn’t hesitate to purchase an album from an artiste he supports. “Most of the time I will be playing their songs over and over again, synced over my stereo, iPod, computer and etc. However, if it is a song which I do not enjoy as much, I may just download it.” He also thinks it’s important for listeners to understand musicians better, and help build support.

Rebecca Saw finds that purchasing music does not pose a problem given her current capacity. On how an artiste may be affected by piracy, she opines that the artiste devotes a great share of effort into producing music but he does not reap the fruits of his labour. “He may gain fame but how can one survive on fame?”

Khairy Jamaluddin has plenty to voice about music piracy. Apart from its aesthetic value, he finds music a commodity. “Behind the music there is a musician and everyone else who are involved in the production. They are creating a commodity, so they should be rightfully paid for it.” Additionally, he finds the mentality of ‘artistes are rich, so we should not feel bad’ a contributing factor to the lack of ethics in this regard. “Look at the local scene. Piracy, both on and offline, makes it difficult for them to earn a decent living.”

Despite that, Khairy thinks access to free music has also helped give some artistes a shot at stardom, for example Zee Avi. “It cuts both ways. However, I don’t think the music industry should adapt to that business model, because that’s an admission of defeat. It would send investors the wrong message that the country does not respect intellectual property. As a whole, I think it shouldn’t happen. It is basically theft. But somehow, it’s something that is not prioritized enough in terms of policy enforcement. It’s sad to think that the present state of affairs suggest that we have to live with it.”

So, what do you think?