Music Police Put an End to Student File-sharing

As a college student, listening to RA lectures about illegally downloading music is pretty much like listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher: “Wah, wah, wah.” After all, we are the generation that grew up using LimeWire and Kazaa as alternative (cough, FREE) ways to find the hottest music and best new indie bands.

But as all good things must come to an end, file sharing has joined the list of illegal, punishable activities on campuses. By curbing file sharing on campus, the music recording industry stands to regain profits that have been rapidly decreasing thanks to these technologies.

Per a component of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that went into effect on July 1, 2010, universities nationwide must now enforce more stringent sharing policies. Student violators face punishments like expulsion, community service or plain-and-simple cash fines -- yes, up to $30,000 per song!

So that entire new Kid Cudi album you just ripped from a Napster knockoff could put you more than half a million dollars in the red. Maybe buying the $12.99 version off iTunes isn’t such a bad compromise?

Off-campus students aren’t exempt from the mandate, either. Once Internet providers are made aware of any illegal sharing activity, legal action will be taken accordingly.

Still willing to risk a few downloads from LimeWire? Nice try. In late October, as the result of a lawsuit filed by some of the recording industry’s most prominent labels (Arista, Capitol and Sony, to name a few), LimeWire was officially ordered by a New York judge to shut down its services. Its nearly 50 million monthly users have been left in the dust.

Even with LimeWire now 6 feet under, the advent of new technologies proves piracy to be almost impossible to combat. When push comes to shove and a student must weigh a $30,000 fine against one 99-cent expenditure, I prefer to take one order of iTunes with a side of “no, thank you.”