Computers?
Ever since the new technological device, the computer been invented, the world has been put on noticed. The possibilities with this new device are unlimited and it kinda of scary. It's not the device itself, it's the person who gets their hands on one that could make history.
Depending on who get their hands on one, it could be used for useful things such as learning, reading online news publications, shopping, or in a professional setting. On the dark side, it could also be used for cyberbully, pornography, cheating, and even privacy issues.
Piracy?
Privacy issues are one of the most common computer topics in the world today. The subject? Piracy which is the unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work. Plagiarism, illegal copying, copyrighting and bootlegging. "Contemporary piracy is also associated with the file-sharer: generally a young white man hiding behind a computer screen somewhere in Europe or North America, downloading movies and music" (James and Martin). The music industry is the primary victim in piracy. People often overlook those getting affected by illegal downloading of music. Today, there are hundreds of ways to download music. Click the button below to view how easy it could be.
Downloaded Documentary
Downloading illegal music had to come from somewhere. Right? The history all started from somewhere and Alex Winter tells the story through his documentary "Downloaded". Winter's "Downloaded" is about three teenagers founding the software called Napster to upload any music anyone wants to listen to just by a click of a button. The software was founded in 1999 when computers were still being discovered by the world. At that time most did not even know the internet existed.
Downloaded Purpose
Winter's purpose for filming "Downloaded" was to show the world that the internet could be used for the greater of the good of things. In the film, Winter showed that lawyers wanted to sue Napster for violating copyrights laws. Winter countered this by showing us that what the three teenagers were doing was for the better and they had to help others in mind when creating the software. Although the boys were not aware of the copyrights laws, they just wanted to help others listen to their favorite music on the computer.
The occasion of the events centered around the utilization of the computer. As more and more families started to go out and buy a computer and learn how to use it. The teenagers realized that the internet could do wonders with the advance technology. Everyone loves music and would literally have to go out to a CD shop or their local disk store to purchase music. The boys found a way to save everyone a trip to the record store and listen to any music in the world, even music that hasn't been released yet on their computer. This did not come without controversy, as some people deplore of Napster for privacy and piracy issues.
Audience
Winter's intended audience for "Downloaded" are those who use the internet to listen to music, those who go on soundcloud.com, youtube.com, and many more websites you could listen to free music on. Although Winter makes the audience well aware that downloading music illegally is a crime, he also wants the audience to know that Music Artists needs exposure as well.
The Rhetoric In Downloaded
The rhetoric in "Downloaded" is presented throughout the whole documentary. The film first starts with music playing and since the film is about software that download music and everyone loves music the strategy is perfect. It captures the audience attention right from the start, it sure did capture mine. Winter did not stop there, he had music playing in the background throughout the whole film.
In the film, Winter focused more on the reasons the teenagers created the software more than he would the punishment the boys could face. Although, he did point out the boys committed a crime. Per Tom Lamont, an author for TheGuardian website, had this to say about the boys, "Napster: the day the music was set free".
"The digital music revolution started with Napster – the file-sharing service dreamt up by two teenagers in 1999. As a new film tells Napster's story, Tom Lamont recalls the incredible sense of liberation he felt as a young music fan, one of the millions happily plundering the world's record collections…"
Winter had Shawn Fanning, one of the three teenagers, speak the most. He had Fanning justify his reason to create the software and what he intended to do with the software. He also gave interviews to those who were positively affected by Napster in the music industry. Also, he presented the CEO and other executives of Napster to tell the audience more of what Napster provide. Winter did not present those who were negatively affected, but he did present the lawyers that were suing the three teenagers, to go after the real villains of the situation which is one of Michaels Moore's rules.
The Focal point and The Future of the Music Industry
Winter wanted the world to know that Napster and the three Teenagers made history. Winter had presented facts for what Napster did to the Music Industry in his film. The software exposes artist all around the world for fans to download and listen too. Even those without a large fan base. Record Labels can now found new talent easier. Seung-Hyun Hong from the University of Illinois cleared up the impact on how Napster affected the Music Industry in his research "MEASURING THE EFFECT OF NAPSTER ON RECORDED MUSIC SALES: DIFFERENCE-IN-DIFFERENCES ESTIMATES UNDER COMPOSITIONAL CHANGES".
"Systematic file sharing began with Napster. After its introduction in June 1999, Napster quickly became popular among Internet users. The number of users grew extraordinarily, and numerous music files were exchanged via Napster.7 Although other minor file-sharing programs appeared during the Napster period, Napster was undoubtedly the dominant file-sharing service until early 2001."
"Downloaded" Supports What Napster Did For Music
Winter supports the three teenagers and Napster. The evidence is obvious from his film "Downloaded". However, he did let the audience know what the teenagers did was a crime, he is willing to overlook that as the music industry started to tremendously improve as far as letting the users upload any music they want too. Winter was biased in his film for the teenagers as he went after the lawyers for suing the boys and did not present those who were negatively affected. The film-maker could have presented this to the audience.
My thoughts on "Downloaded" and "Napster"
After viewing the film, Winter did a great job in presenting the truth about the creation of Napster, most would see the three teenagers as criminals and most likely still do due to the fact that they were illegal allowing users to listen to the music free, which is classified as piracy, as I mentioned above. However, Winter showed the audience a different side of the story, as there were positive affects also to Napster software. Napster was created with a good cause in mind and I applaud what the teens did and what they have done for the music industry then, and the future, they have positively impacted the world in a great way as everyone now can listen to great music all over the world just from the computer.
Works Cited
Martin, Fred, and Arvanitakis James. "Piracy : Leakages from Modernity." Piracy : Leakages from Modernity (July 2014): 1. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
HONG, SEUNG-HYUN. "MEASURING THE EFFECT OF NAPSTER ON RECORDED MUSIC SALES: DIFFERENCE-IN-DIFFERENCES ESTIMATES UNDER COMPOSITIONAL CHANGES." JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMETRICS (2013): 1. Journal of Applied Econometrics. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
Lamont, Tom. "Napster: the day the music was set free." Www.theguardian.com. N.p., 23 Feb. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
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