Research Paper

Dmitri Zaderetsky
Yerks
Composition 106 Web
13 April 2010
The Silver Lining
In today’s world, people who are knowledgeable in using computers are aware of the action known as downloading. There are different categories of downloading, people could acquire programs, movies, and music for free if they so choose to. In the United States the act of piracy, defined as any form of unauthorized duplication and/or distribution of music including downloading, file sharing, and CD-burning (Music Piracy). By taking action in piracy, there are consequences to faced, because it is illegal in the United States. Although it is the law that downloading music is illegal, millions of people do it every day, but with only a few individuals answering the consequences (Music Piracy).
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has attempted to take action against people downloading music, but their efforts have shown miniscule results. The facts shows what is truly happening, and that is the RIAA can sue for as much as $150,000 per song illegally downloaded, almost 2000 individuals have been sued by the RIAA for illegally downloading as of March, 2004, but more than 400 individuals have settled, paying fines averaging $3000 (Music Piracy). The amount of people total in the United States was over 250 million at that time, and with the population continuing to grow, it becomes even harder for the RIAA to enforce its laws (Growth of U.S. Population). These numbers show that the system is very defective, because the association singles out people rather than finding a way to punish everyone that commits piracy. The efforts are clear that there is an attempt to lower the cases of illegal downloading, but it simply making matters worse when the public sees how few people are actually affected by the RIAA. The Industry also argues that people are stealing money from the artists by downloading the music rather than buying it (Record Industry Association of America). This may be true, but what is important to realize is that album sales are not the major source of income, it is the tours, merchandise, and record signings that the bands participate in. In the case of famous rappers and rock artists we can see their homes on a show called Cribs, which takes us through their lifestyles of owning several cars, pools, and extravagant homes. The RIAA has very intimidating factors and consequences for those who commit piracy, yet its lack of being able to uphold these laws makes the company look like hollow threats and more of a joke than something serious to consider.
The view of the public is crucial to understanding why piracy is being committed, because they have reasoning for it. I compiled a survey directed toward the age group of 15 to 25, in which twelve anonymous participants relayed their view. This was the best age range for the topic because this age group is most prone to using computers on a daily basis. The results were staggering, all but one person have downloaded music illegally, only three considered it stealing, and only one person would be against their own music being downloaded. It shows that the people do not agree with the law placed, and in the United States it is the people whose voices must be heard in order to make changes. On the essay response question “Do you think everyone has moved on from CD's to mp3 players, making it pointless to buy them?”, the mostly answered yes. The people claim that buying Compact Disks makes you ignorant of the advances in technology, and that it is much easier to have a CD become scratched and ruined rather than an mp3 player. Another important point made was that “Essentially yes. Soon, there won't be CD slots in cars. Just how tape players got ousted”. This analysis is very true, the world is changing, and as we move from radio to tapes to CD players, the next best thing will surely take over.
While studying the public I decided to interview an individual who was in a band, this would show the view firsthand. His name is Kars and he was part of a music group called Cita’s Wings. They have had several performances throughout the Detroit metro area and have recorded an album. His opinion on piracy was that it was important for a band, because groups like his cannot have their album in stores, but rather have to sell them at shows in order to get their name out into the world. Through piracy, the public can spread the music much faster and allow the band to be become well known. In his words, “I think it's about having the music and being a fan, you don't have to put money towards the album that the band will never see to prove that”. I can truly support this outlook, because many teens do not have a job or cannot afford buying the music, yet it is the teens that make up most of the fans in today’s world. The bands that become famous are due to the fans supporting their music and spreading it, therefore without them many groups would not be able to become popular.
A very popular argument against piracy is that it causes stores to lose business and overall effects the economy. This is only true on a small scale, because although the local businesses have taken a hit in sales over the years, the corporate stores such as Best Buy and Target have had a 1.3 billion dollar increase in CD sales over a period of seven years (CD Sales Chart). Such a vast increase in sales shows that people continue to buy CDs even though they have the choice to commit piracy and obtain the music for free. An interesting fact is that the music artists only make $1.60 from every CD sold, the rest of the money that a CD costs goes to manufacturing, rights, record companies, and retail services (CD Sales Chart). Another important thing to consider is that there are many albums that are not readily available in stores, some local and underground bands simply do not have their music in places such as Wal-Mart, and therefore people are led to download music more often. This is a very common situation, and because the popular music in today’s world is based around R&B and hip-hop, the other genres suffer and have less of their music available to purchase.
When first looked at, piracy seems very cruel and the consequences for committing it are overwhelming, but that is only on the surface. As I investigated into the topic, it was evident that the public is very comfortable with the act of downloading music illegally, and has understandable reasons for it. The facts are what is important when looking at piracy, because the inability of the RIAA to properly punish people for breaking this law shows a weakness in the system. The bands do not suffer from the public downloading their music, in fact it actually supports and speeds up their career of the group, ensuring a higher chance at becoming famous. The word illegal has seemed to have lost its power, because the public has not been intimidated by it when it comes to piracy.








Work Cited
"CD Sales Chart." Almighty Institute of Music Retail, 2004. Web. 15 Mar 2010. .
"Music Piracy." Christian Music Trade Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2010. .
"Growth of U.S. Population." Web. 15 Mar 2010. .
"Record Industry Association of America." RIAA. RIAA, n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2010. .

Piracy Survey

For my survey I chose questions relating to my topic, which was piracy of music. I had questions set out to the general public around the ages of 15 to 25, those most prone to using the computer and downloading. Technology has advanced greatly, and now people are able to "steal music", with very little stopping them from doing so. In my screen capture, you can see that 11 out of 12 people had downloaded music, and it goes on further to show that only one person out the 12 cares if someone download music from their band. The times have changed, yet the record companies still attempt to catch those in the act of piracy.
Most of the questions were answered in a majority fashion of either all the people agreeing or disagreeing with one or two people taking the opposing side. This was dissapointing because it is interesting to see people's opinion on different topics, but this helps my assignment by showing the majority of people's opinions on a certain question. the split question was asking if people considered downloading music as stealing, where over a third said it was stealing, while the other two-thirds said it was not.
If I could change the survey I would attempt to think of more questions, in order to obtain more results and information. Overall this survey has really helped my assignment and strengthened my ideas on how to organize the essay.

Interview

Dmitri Zaderetsky
Yerks
Composition 106 Section 19
10 March 2010
Profile Paper
For my interview I chose a friend who was in a local band, which has extensive knowledge of music. His name is Kars Peterson, he is eighteen years of age, and has a very unique personality. We both agreed upon meeting in a café for some coffee while participating in this interview, and he was glad to help. He stands at a solid five feet, eleven inches, sporting an athletic body type. His current hair is cut very short and is a light shade of brown. He chooses to alternate between wearing contacts and thick, black-rimmed glasses. His clothing style is made up of band t-shirts, and tight woman’s jeans; a very interesting fact is that he does not own any pants made for males.
He is a very fit individual physically, but that only makes up part of an individual, his psyche is important as well. In response to several questions, I have been able to find out that he has grown up in the city of Livonia, located in Michigan. He has one younger sibling, which is a sister the age of sixteen. While growing up he did not get along with her, but now that he is getting ready to set off for college, he regrets never settling his differences, and is now trying to make up for the time lost. His father is a police officer for Detroit that has recently retired, and now he tends to share his stories of being on duty to Kars and his friends. Their family attends a Christian church every Sunday, which shows a true commitment. He is finishing the last year of High School this June, and plans to further his education at Michigan Tech, although the current career remains undecided. Currently, he works at Kroger’s, enjoys swimming competitively, playing videogames, and most of all, music.
The musician Kars has talent in playing piano, guitar, and his favorite instrument, the electric bass. He has been playing bass for almost five years now, and plans to continue playing no matter where life takes him. He was in a local band called Cita’s Wings, which played heavy metal music mixed with a vocal style similar to Metallica. Their group played at several different venues around the Livonia area, including some as far as East Lansing. He explained that the group came together when word around school was that they were looking for a talented bassist, which he was more than glad to fill the position. The music he listens to ranges from Ska, with bands such as Streetlight Manifesto, to techno such as Angerfist, and all the way to heavy metal, a group he is particularly fond of is Between the Buried and Me. Kars claims it is very important for people to listen to as many different styles as possible, because it widens their view and ideas for music. His band released one CD, and was working on a second one, but after several months of practice and hard work, it became evident that Kars and the drummer had far too many things to focus on such as school, work, and sports, that there was not enough time for Cita’s Wings. There are many fond memories he shares with his band mates, and “would love to get back up on that stage to blast some funky beats”, but for now there are more important things he must do. Kars believes he will find a band to play with on campus, and even though they might not become famous, he still loves the thrill of playing live and writing music.
When asked about his views on piracy of music, he responded that it is wrong to steal music, but it is so common in today’s life, that it’s becoming the main way people find new bands to listen to, and thus is important. In his opinion, once people begin downloading a band’s albums, the music is being heard more often, and begins to spread throughout the world, until the group is noticed and given a big break to truly let their voices be heard. It’s not easy selling CD’s for a local band that few people has heard about, he says live shows provide the crowd with a taste of what the group is working toward, but with a lack of high end equipment and a studio, the process is very hard.

Pictures of my interviewed individual

Kars smiling next to a wall

This is Kars in action during a show at the Token Lounge
Kars standing

Reader]

Skeptics May Object
1. This war on drugs cannot be taken lightly, but some readers might question that it is the people’s right to consume alcohol, for it is legal, along with other pharmaceutical drugs being abused. This is a viable statement, but exactly why we need to do something about it. People all around the United States, and the world are becoming prone to addiction to such substances, alcoholism leading to drunk driving, and pills leading to overdose, causing death. This is a serious matter, and so far the efforts our government has put forth are not enough to contain this

2. My latest essay that I have written was titled The Healthy Choice, which argued for the fact that vegetarians can indeed acquire all the nutrients from vegetables, without having to consume meat products. In it I have anticipated the objection that vegetarians are deficient in certain categories of vitamins such as B12, which will cause problems in the body, but can easily be solved with supplements or eating vegetables rich in those minerals. I have not anticipated all likely objections, but I have answered the most common one. I have represented the objection fairly, because I stated all the problems and effects of the deficiency, but answered them in a manner which suffices all objections. The language introduced in this chapter would have been helpful, but the words I used were very similar. The introduction of a naysayer is a very important way to strengthen an argument, because the writer is clearly acknowledging objections that he is aware of, and at the same time answering them to make his work stronger.

Reader's Response #1

Chapter 2, Exercise 1:
The belief of Christianity is based upon a gathering of surrounding religions and regions during its time period such as Islam, Judaism, and even Egyptian culture. One might say that a religion based on other ideas cannot be real, because there is no original thought for it. This religion has transformed over the years, and many branches have been formed. It has undergone a great deal of growth and persecution, and studying the progress shows a lot of change in a region. Additionally the conversion to this drastic idea when it first started out seemed ridiculous, but now it is one of the most commonly practiced beliefs in the world.

The religion known as Christianity has evolved greatly since it first started out, increasing its number of followers exponentially. The years have taken a toll on the religion, for it has changed and split into several different sects, showing a lack of a standard point that everyone can agree upon. The followers have been peaceful, promoting health, positive life ethics, and overall helping those in need. The world has become a better place due to its spread, but at the same time has lost a serious amount of people during The Crusades, where violence was the answer in a so called Holy War. This belief has become less violent, and more widespread since those days.

Exercise 2:
The writer David Zinczenko claims the people are not to blame for obesity; it is the fast-food restaurants, which is clearly not true. The individual is the one who has the money and choice between what they will consume, and there is nothing stopping them from going to a local Meijer or Wal-Mart to buy soup or fresh vegetables. The fast-food is widely advertised, but a healthy substitute is very existent and obtainable for the average customer.

Being overweight has been proven to be a genuine medical problem rather than a problem of cultural stereotypes. In Zinczenko’s work, he shows how the amount of type 2 diabetes, caused by obesity, has sky-rocketed by 25%. This is clearly a medical issue that cannot be overlooked, and should not be ridiculed. The cultural stereotype is evident in today’s world, which is simply another reason why we should work together as a nation to expel obesity.

Screenshot

When I saw my screen as a photograph I thought about how my screen usual looks. Most of the time there are about seven windows of internet explorers and music playing. I had to use the on-screen keyboard because mine could not do the print screen method for reasons I am unaware of.

While composing in digital spaces, the ideas changes shape greatly. In the digital space I am able to access the internet for assistance in things such as citations and information. The ability to change font and size is also very convenient, for the professor is able to clearly read what the student is trying to say, unlike other cases where in written work the handwriting is illegible. The amount of distractions increase in the digital spaces, because the student is not confined to a desk with only paper and pen, the computer itself hold many tools and applications. The distraction factor does rely on the students self control, but in most cases we fall victim to procrastination.

We can better understand the digital composing processes by simply attempting them ourselves. The different types of digital opportunities such as forums, Facebook and blogs allow the public to experience a variety of writing styles. Some of these methods have a limit to how much can written such as forums, while blogs allow unlimited space for the writer’s complete thoughts.