<s>
Music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
is	O
the	O
copying	O
and	O
distributing	O
of	O
recordings	O
of	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
music	O
for	O
which	O
the	O
rights	O
owners	O
(	O
composer	O
,	O
recording	O
artist	O
,	O
or	O
copyright-holding	O
record	O
company	O
)	O
did	O
not	O
give	O
consent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
invention	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
digital	O
media	O
created	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
in	O
its	O
modern	O
form	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
application	O
that	O
demonstrated	O
the	O
implications	O
of	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
was	O
Napster	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Napster	B-Application
enabled	O
users	O
to	O
exchange	O
music	O
files	O
over	O
a	O
common	O
free	O
server	O
without	O
any	O
regard	O
for	O
copyright	O
laws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Napster	B-Application
was	O
quickly	O
shut	O
down	O
after	O
lawsuits	O
filed	O
by	O
Metallica	O
and	O
Dr.	O
Dre	O
and	O
a	O
separate	O
lawsuit	O
in	O
regards	O
to	O
the	O
Digital	O
Millennium	O
Copyright	O
Act	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
music	O
sharing	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Limewire	B-Application
continued	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
resource	O
to	O
those	O
searching	O
for	O
free	O
music	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
finding	O
some	O
loopholes	O
,	O
piracy	O
began	O
to	O
exist	O
in	O
more	O
legal	O
forms	O
,	O
an	O
example	O
being	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
in	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
case	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
was	O
hosted	O
under	O
Swedish	O
law	O
,	O
where	O
this	O
"	O
map	O
"	O
was	O
not	O
illegal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
have	O
been	O
several	O
means	O
of	O
free	O
access	O
to	O
copyrighted	O
music	O
for	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
including	O
Napster	B-Application
,	O
Limewire	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Spotify	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Napster	B-Application
was	O
a	O
free	O
file	O
sharing	O
software	O
created	O
by	O
college	O
student	O
Shawn	O
Fanning	O
to	O
enable	O
people	O
to	O
share	O
and	O
trade	O
music	O
files	O
in	O
mp3	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Napster	B-Application
became	O
hugely	O
popular	O
because	O
it	O
made	O
it	O
so	O
easy	O
to	O
share	O
and	O
download	O
music	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
other	O
artists	O
following	O
suit	O
and	O
shutting	O
down	O
Napster	B-Application
's	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
Limewire	B-Application
was	O
a	O
free	O
peer-to-peer	O
file	O
sharing	O
software	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Napster	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Napster	B-Application
,	O
Limewire	B-Application
struggled	O
through	O
multiple	O
legal	O
battles	O
and	O
inevitably	O
wound	O
up	O
being	O
shut	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spotify	B-Application
and	O
other	O
on-demand	O
streaming	O
services	O
are	O
offering	O
a	O
way	O
for	O
consumers	O
to	O
still	O
get	O
their	O
music	O
for	O
free	O
while	O
also	O
contributing	O
to	O
the	O
musician	O
in	O
a	O
small	O
way	O
instead	O
of	O
simply	O
illegally	O
downloading	O
the	O
music	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
also	O
moves	O
customers	O
away	O
from	O
buying	O
hard	O
copies	O
of	O
music	O
or	O
even	O
legally	O
downloading	O
songs	O
which	O
is	O
severely	O
reducing	O
artists	O
 '	O
income	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
Recording	O
Industry	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
(	O
RIAA	O
)	O
since	O
Shawn	O
Fanning	O
started	O
the	O
program	O
file	O
sharing	O
program	O
Napster	B-Application
in	O
1999	O
music	O
revenue	O
has	O
gone	O
down	O
53%	O
from	O
$14.6	O
billion	O
to	O
$7.0	O
billion	O
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
RIAA	O
,	O
a	O
powerful	O
lobby	O
for	O
the	O
recording	O
industry	O
,	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
carrying	O
out	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
lawsuits	O
against	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enforcement	O
of	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
laws	O
,	O
which	O
may	O
cost	O
copyright	O
violators	O
up	O
to	O
$	O
150,000	O
per	O
infringement	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
considered	O
by	O
some	O
to	O
be	O
unreasonable	O
,	O
violating	O
constitutional	O
protections	O
against	O
cruel	O
and	O
unusual	O
punishment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
attempts	O
at	O
progress	O
towards	O
controlling	O
the	O
privacy	O
of	O
public	O
media	O
content	O
by	O
targeting	O
the	O
elimination	O
of	O
piracy	O
were	O
made	O
when	O
the	O
highly	O
anticipated	O
yet	O
often	O
debated	O
bill	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Stop	B-Application
Online	I-Application
Piracy	I-Application
Act	I-Application
(	O
SOPA	B-Application
)	O
was	O
proposed	O
in	O
October	O
2011	O
by	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
House	O
representative	O
Lamar	O
S	O
.	O
Smith	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Black	O
,	O
president	O
and	O
CEO	O
of	O
the	O
Computer	O
&	O
Communications	O
Industry	O
Association	O
,	O
who	O
questioned	O
the	O
potential	O
effectiveness	O
of	O
the	O
bill	O
by	O
reasoning	O
that	O
the	O
major	O
pirate	O
websites	O
that	O
SOPA	B-Application
attempts	O
to	O
eliminate	O
could	O
just	O
as	O
easily	O
respawn	O
under	O
a	O
different	O
name	O
if	O
taken	O
down	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
a	O
few	O
hours	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
strong	O
protest	O
attempts	O
were	O
made	O
across	O
the	O
internet	O
when	O
numerous	O
high-profile	O
online	O
organizations	O
including	O
Tumblr	O
,	O
Facebook	O
,	O
Twitter	O
,	O
and	O
participating	O
in	O
American	O
Censorship	O
Day	O
on	O
January	O
18	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
sites	O
including	O
Reddit	O
and	O
Wikipedia	O
going	O
as	O
far	O
as	O
completely	O
blacking	O
out	O
all	O
of	O
their	O
pages	O
,	O
redirecting	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
SOPA	B-Application
protest	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
aggressive	O
protests	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
consenting	O
opinions	O
within	O
the	O
congress	O
,	O
SOPA	B-Application
was	O
tabled	O
on	O
January	O
20	O
by	O
its	O
creator	O
,	O
House	O
representative	O
Lamar	O
Smith	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
University	O
of	O
Idaho	O
professor	O
Darryl	O
Woolley	O
,	O
writing	O
in	O
the	O
Academy	O
of	O
Information	O
and	O
Management	O
Sciences	O
Journal	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
shared	O
an	O
estimate	O
of	O
12.5	O
billion	O
dollars	O
lost	O
annually	O
due	O
to	O
file	O
sharing	O
and	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
,	O
and	O
5	O
billion	O
of	O
that	O
is	O
profits	O
lost	O
from	O
the	O
music	O
industry	O
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
has	O
become	O
such	O
an	O
issue	O
that	O
the	O
industry	O
is	O
encouraged	O
to	O
adapt	O
to	O
this	O
new	O
era	O
and	O
change	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surviving	O
Music	B-Application
Piracy	I-Application
In	O
A	O
Digital	O
Era	O
"	O
By	O
Jelle	O
Janssens	O
,	O
Stijn	O
Vandaele	O
,	O
and	O
Tom	O
Vander	O
Beken	O
presents	O
an	O
analysis	O
of	O
the	O
prevalence	O
of	O
piracy	O
in	O
music	O
trade	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
affected	O
the	O
global	O
sales	O
of	O
CDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
article	O
points	O
out	O
that	O
technological	O
development	O
such	O
as	O
file	O
sharing	O
,	O
MP3	O
players	O
,	O
and	O
CDRs	O
have	O
increased	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
forms	O
of	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
are	O
Internet	O
Piracy	O
and	O
compact	O
disc	O
piracy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
discusses	O
the	O
association	O
between	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
and	O
organized	O
crime	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
defined	O
as	O
profit-driven	O
illegal	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
sheer	O
volume	O
of	O
file	O
transfers	O
,	O
though	O
,	O
distributing	O
music	O
through	O
traditional	O
web	O
servers	O
and	O
FTP	B-Protocol
servers	O
were	O
not	O
as	O
popular	O
as	O
peer-to-peer	O
(	O
P2P	O
)	O
now	O
,	O
because	O
the	O
traditional	O
direct	O
download	O
method	O
is	O
slower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
filesharers	O
in	O
the	O
survey	O
preferred	O
to	O
get	O
their	O
music	O
from	O
"	O
local	O
sources	O
"	O
such	O
as	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
connections	O
,	O
email	O
,	O
flash	O
drives	O
,	O
sharing	O
with	O
other	O
people	O
they	O
know	O
personally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Statistics	O
have	O
shown	O
that	O
since	O
the	O
early	O
2010s	O
,	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
decline	O
in	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
NPD	O
survey	O
,	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
approximately	O
one	O
in	O
ten	O
Internet	O
users	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
downloaded	O
music	O
through	O
a	O
file	O
sharing	O
service	O
similar	O
to	O
BitTorrent	O
or	O
LimeWire	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
free	O
streaming	O
services	O
has	O
decreased	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
users	O
who	O
pirate	B-Application
music	I-Application
on	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Services	O
such	O
as	O
Spotify	B-Application
and	O
Pandora	B-Application
have	O
easy-to-use	O
interfaces	O
and	O
decrease	O
the	O
risk	O
for	O
computer	O
viruses	O
and	O
spyware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
to	O
the	O
illegal	O
software	O
used	O
by	O
older	O
music	B-Application
piracy	I-Application
networks	O
such	O
as	O
Napster	B-Application
or	O
Limewire	B-Application
,	O
current	O
music	O
streaming	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Spotify	B-Application
and	O
Rdio	O
offer	O
cheap	O
yet	O
legal	O
access	O
to	O
copyrighted	O
music	O
by	O
paying	O
the	O
rights	O
holders	O
through	O
money	O
made	O
off	O
of	O
payments	O
made	O
by	O
premium	O
users	O
and	O
through	O
advertisements	O
.	O
</s>
