Piracy 2: Music

This article is a follow on from an article I wrote on software piracy, which can be found here.

Well, once more unto the breach dear friends, as I continue my explorations into the deep, dark world of copyright theft and piracy. This time I will be exploring piracy within the music industry, looking at the origins of it, how it has spread, how it can be controlled and the public attitude towards it. Also, there’s going to be a little education on the corrupt organization that is the music industry. So, let’s get down into Davey Jone’s Locker.

The First Music Pirates

The year is 1964, and it’s Easter. All over the country, millions of Britons are settling down for their cup “o tea (or beer and a punch up if you”re a Celt). Many of them turn on the wireless, and as they tune in to their favored radio stations, some are amazed to find a brand new station broadcasting on a previously unused frequency. They broadcasted pop music aimed primarily at bored housewives and their venture proved to be very successful; in the end they had nearly 6 million listeners across Western Europe. They also played the new tunes of the time, and many people cite them as playing an important role in the growth of rock and roll. They where Radio Caroline, broadcasting on a wavelength of 199.

Unfortunately they where not licensed by any government. The operation was very, very illegal. So how did they avoid getting caught? Well, they wired up a ship with all the transmission equipment they’d need and sailed out to international waters, just off the coast of Suffolk in merry old England. Truly, they where worthy of the term “pirates”.

Radio Caroline was not the first group of people to do this, but they where the first to make it in a big way. Later on they became legit.

So, 1964, possibly the first incident of large scale music piracy, or at least the earliest I could find. Either way it illustrates an important point, music piracy has been around for a VERY long time, long before computers where common place, let alone MP3s.

Piracy Goes Commercial

The 70’s brought in the popularization of the compact cassette tape. Anyone over the age of 20 should have at least a vague, lingering memory of these (I know I do). They sound quality was good and sharp (Until they where well used anyway), and they where a lot smaller than vinyl, as well as holding a lot more music. Suddenly people had large music libraries, and with the advent of the walkman, they could take their music with them! Tapes appeared everywhere and soon Vinyl was forced to take second place, although to its credit it still remained popular.