Love downloading music without paying a dime? It may not be so free after all.
Though downloading music illegally may be popular all over the globe, the Recording Industry Association of America has started to rein its focus on college campuses and students.
According to an August 2007 report by the Institute for Policy Innovation, the Unites States loses approximately $12.5 billion each year as a result of music piracy. As a result, it is estimated that more than 71,000 jobs have been lost.
"Music piracy is dangerous in general, but especially for college students," said Jill Stangl, managing director of Student Legal Services at Texas Tech. "For the past few years, the RIAA has really begun to target college students. Since students are so easily connected to the university's internet, it's easy to file-share and open up their computer to the RIAA."
Looking into a PC or laptop after file sharing is like taking a snapshot in time, she said. By allowing shared files to download onto a hard drive, the RIAA can easily trace a person's ISP and find out when, where, how, from whom and what file was shared.
"Students really put themselves at risk by downloading music. Not just financially, but for their computer's sake as well," said Brit Swanson, associate director of Student Legal Services. "Viruses are easy to come by and very hard to get rid of."
Downloading music or any other shared files can make a computer vulnerable, said Bill Davis with network support at Tech's Computer Sciences Department. Web sites that offer illegal copies of recorded audio for file sharing online tend to be the sites that also have the highest incidence rate of transmitting computer viruses.
"Sharing files opens up a trail for viruses to take and hide in the hard drive of a computer," he said. "Most are embedded into songs or other files downloaded and, if not taken care of, can destroy computers."
Viruses attack computers by implanting themselves into the hard drive and infecting saved documents, Davis said. In worst-case scenarios, infected computers will require a complete overhaul, which often results in the loss of all files saved on it.
"The more you put your computer at risk," he said, "the easier it is to destroy it."
Though downloading music may seem innocent enough, the rumor of subpoenas and warning letters from the RIAA are far from myth, Stangl said.
Those who chronically download illegally shared files are more susceptible to the consequences imposed by the RIAA, Swanson said. The more one downloads these files, the more likely it is he or she will receive a warning letter or in some instances face legal consequences.
Years of warnings, educational campaigns and the availability of legal alternatives seemed to have fallen short of 100 percent efficacy in the prevention of illegal music sharing, according to the RIAA's Web site, and illegal downloading continues to be a problem on college campuses across the United States.
The federal court cases in which some illegal downloaders find themselves mired after being warned several times, Swanson said, often leave them wishing they had stopped illegally downloading music after the first warning.
Fighting such cases, she said, rarely if ever pays off for students.
College campuses around the country, Stangl and Swanson said, have received letters and documentation encouraging students to download files legally through university-sponsored free download sites or through providers such as iTunes.
Recipients of warning letters have an opportunity to avoid a potential lawsuit by settling out of court for a reduced fee, according to the RIAA Web site.
A person can be fined up to $750 for each song illegally stored on their computer, Stangl said.
"Sometimes the RIAA will settle for maybe $250 per song," Stangl said. "But taking the risk of not settling just isn't worth it. Say a student downloads 500 songs. With the regular fees, that person will have to pay $350,000. If taken to court, those fees will increase dramatically."
Although colleges around the country have been targeted by the RIAA, Swanson said, Tech has yet to see a case involving one of its students.
"We haven't worked on any cases due to illegal downloading," Stangl said. "There is a software block on our campus, which keeps students from downloading software systems like Napster, Limewire, etc. Other campuses aren't as lucky as us."
Tech uses a system called Ruckus that allows students to download music legally on campus.
"This system allows students to download music in a safe environment since we blocked all other peer-to-peer trafficking," said Sam Segran, Tech's associate vice president for information technology.
Though blocked from doing so on campus, most students are still able to download music illegally off campus.
"Just because we haven't received a case yet doesn't mean a student hasn't been charged," Swanson said. "We'll help support any student who is charged with a subpoena for music piracy. It doesn't matter if you live on or off campus. We will make sure that a student will be well represented in court."
The Tech's Student Legal Services is open for any student who needs legal aid. With their outreach program, lawyers are prepared to speak to classes, students and any other organization that wants to learn more about legal aid on campus.
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