Copyright Infringement from the Inside: Student Perspectives on Music Piracy

In response to increasing rates of media piracy, particularly among college-aged students, the content industry has tried a variety of methods to dissuade questionable file-sharing practices, including airing commercials, filing lawsuits, and urging schools to provide access to sanctioned legal services, but progress to date has been minimal. Students themselves have not been consulted about their actual attitudes and behavior in this arena, although diverse motives have been ascribed to them. To gain a richer understanding of this key demographic, 42 undergraduates from a major East Coast university were interviewed at length about their media-acquisition habits and their responses to industry antipiracy efforts. This presentation will cover the students' viewpoints on this controversial topic.