Taking on the System reflection

In 1999, Sean Parker created Napster, the first file sharing music database.  I was nine years old, but fondly remember many nights spent with my older cousin downloading music. Everything was instantaneous. It was so new to me at the time.  I was still asking for Britney’s latest album for my birthday and my cousin, only three years my senior, already had it on her computer on the day it came out - for free and without asking for moms help.  I knew this was super cool, but was not adept enough to download music myself. 

Soon enough, the record labels and musicians caught wind of the mass quantities of illegal downloading.  Artists were producing albums and loosing their demographic to Napster’s easy access and free downloads. And so, the record labels sued for piracy and won.

But did they really win? To quote The Social Network’s portrayal of Sean Parker, “the record labels won in court. But who wants to go buy a CD at Tower Records today?” While Parker’s entrepreneurial spirit got in him in trouble with the law, he’s the perfect example of one who took advantage of the Internet’s limitless bounds.  He changed the music industry by providing the consumer with the same material available in stores – less the drive to the store, the wait in line, and of course, $14.99. 

In Markos Moulitsas Zuniga’s book “Taking on the System,” technology and the expansiveness of the Internet are vital components to take on the system. According to Zuniga, technology is in fact saving today’s society:

“Traditionally, these self-appointed and unaccountable gatekeepers have purported to operate in the public interest, but they are grossly out of touch with the public. Rather than empower the people, they designed rules to keep the rabble out of their inner sanctums, where our ideas wouldn’t infect their decision making-process. Whether it was record label executives, or Hollywood studio moguls, or editors and producers in the media, or the clubby D.C. politicians, consultants, and lobbyists – many built walls to protect the sanctity of their turf” (location 51-61). 

The “gatekeeper” suppresses individual ideas from developing in society by creating norms and mass produced material. Much like Parker’s pioneer music sharing program, Zuniga’s site, “The Daily Kos,” embodies the “new generation of participants taking an active role in our culture and democracy” (location 61-72). 

Zuniga accuses the gatekeeper of “muzzling the new voices rising up from the ground.” Zuniga makes valiant points regarding the Internet’s ability to feed the public’s interests where the “traditional gatekeeper” cannot:

“Fiona Apple made a three-song demo tape and passed it on to a friend. That friend gave the tape and passed it on to another friend, who passed the tape to a producer at Sony Music, and Apple soon had a recording contract.”

Today, an artist seeking attention for their work would simply post their material to YouTube, just as Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black did. YouTube provides a platform for up and coming artists to get their name out there and be seen, just as Apple had done by passing around her demo tape.  However, the gatekeeping record label is avoided. The amount of hits the page receives will reflect on the public’s interest level. Under the video, there’s room for viewer comments, along with endless sharing and embedding possibilities. 

Perhaps this media platform would have been useful for Apple in the 90’s, who felt the pressure to conform to Sony’s interests in the music she produced.  Apple finished her third record with Sony in 2003, but the album’s release date continued to get pushed back.  The record company prohibited Apple’s creative interests. Instead, tracks were leaked onto the Internet, where they received a multitude of praise. Her album entitled “Extraordinary Machine,” received so much support from Apple’s fans that 37,000 of them signed a petition to “free Fiona” from the record label’s restrictions. Through their continued support, Apple’s fans assisted her to a Grammy nomination; “‘the label isn’t putting out her record, so we’re going to do it for her’” (location 786-97).

Nearly ten years later, fan support for artists continues through blogging and file sharing. What began as a gutsy move by Parker has stemmed into a counter-culture of music supporters, all connecting through the Internet. File sharing gives the “underdog” a chance to connect with the public and be inspired to create new music.  Websites like “FratMusic.com” and “8track.com” allow users to upload their own material and mixes.  This is the new music industry at work.

After all Zuniga has said, I am still at a crossroads. It still seems incredibly unethical to underscore the record labels and high profile artists through music piracy. It seems too easy and a little wrong to download the product someone has worked so hard to produce.  Is it better to contribute to the conversation on the Internet through file sharing, music blogs and the like to inspire artists to produce new material?

I’m going to go download another song from Mediafire.com and get back to you on that…