The Lighter Side of Piracy

As I was reading Mattelart’s article, and he was discussing the pre-digital age use of VHS cassette tapes as the main vehicle of pirated materials, I couldn’t help thinking of that Seinfeld episode where Jerry tapes Death Blow. And then I was reminded of my travels through Southeast Asia where I would run across VHS tapes of long-forgotten gems like Universal Soldier and Troll 2 in those generic, transparent VHS boxes. Move another stall over and there was a cassette tape of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill sitting next to a burned Hanson CD. Hanging next to this collection of musical must-haves was an oversized Manute Bol jersey next to a Super Bowl XXXIII Atlanta Falcons hat (they were the Super Bowl losers that year). Needless to say, I immediately bought all of the aforementioned items.

I know this isn’t exactly piracy in the contemporary terms that Panethiere is concerned with, but it still has to do directly with those same intellectual property issues that dominate the discussion today. But even in my moments of greatest vulnerability to guilt, I still consider digital piracy with the same level of indifference that I had when buying that ripped off version of Planet Earth for 3 dollars in Vietnam. As I am writing this, I am listening to a newly downloaded album of a band called Discovery which isn’t even a band anymore, and will most likely never miss the cents that ever would have reached them if I had gone to a record store to buy it. That being said, everyone should support their local music stores. And I do. Sometimes. The experience of browsing through CDs is something that piracy can never endanger. Those stores don’t exist primarily to turn a profit anyway. When my favourite band released their new, really fantastic album last year, I bought it directly from the website, and have seen them live numerous times-my money goes directly to them. On the flip side, when somebody goes to Target to buy the latest Hilary Duff CD, who pockets that money? If it’s Target, or Hilary Duff-it’s a lose-lose situation. Miley Cyrus on the other hand…

In conclusion, I have great respect for the lawyers of media conglomerates and the legal fees they are pursuing, but I would rather think of piracy in the context of Somalia, Mr. Smee, or what Mattelart was kind of getting at-that because someone like Jerry Seinfeld films Death Blow that contributes to the flow of new technologies into a remote Bolivian village. Last time I checked, Lars Ulrich and his Metallica counterparts aren’t exactly living in a cardboard box trying to peddle 25 cent Spice Girls tapes. As one of my favourite musicians, Billy Bragg, puts it, and keep in mind this quote isn’t coming from someone off a huge recording label,

In regard to proposed anti-piracy measures:

"We're concerned that, in an age where there is much greater competition for attention, these proposals are in danger of driving young people away from the idea of listening to music"