Officials at Penn State University have decided to take proactive measures to dissuade their students from committing acts of music piracy over the internet. At the start of the Spring semester, 18,000 students will be provided with a premium version of Napster at no charge, in hopes of weaning individuals away from sharing songs illegally over peer-to-peer networks. Administrators at Duke should watch the progress of Penn State's program closely, and if feasible, mimic its efforts should they prove successful.
College students are inherently inclined towards file sharing--all the tools needed are right at their fingertips. Nearly all students have access to personal computers, most of which operate with high speed connections, making file transfers quick and easy. Current generations of college students have been caught up in a culture of instant gratification, and have become accustomed to having access to free music that they can own within seconds. Asking individuals to cease obtaining music online is not realistic, but something must be done to assuage the music industry, and at the same time protect students from legal action taken by the Recording Industry Association of America, which has begun to prosecute individuals for piracy.
Penn State's solution is not perfect, but it does take several steps in the right direction. First, the university has contracted to cover the cost of subscription to a newly-revamped and completely legal version of the popular Napster program. The monthly fee will cover the cost of full-length streaming music and 40 radio stations, among other features. However, students will still be required to pay 99 cents for each song they download. These songs are not free, but are still certainly less expensive on Napster than in music stores.
The reality is that many students will continue to share files over peer-to-peer networks at no charge, but the fact that a legal version of Napster has been made widely available gives students little excuse to continue acts of piracy. Admittedly, the RIAA has thus far only targeted individuals who upload files or have downloaded significant amounts of files. Students who transfer files should not take this as assurance that they will not be prosecuted, however, as music industry officials liken piracy to shoplifting, and have a tremendous interest in putting the practice to an end.
Penn State's implementation of free subscriptions to Napster is commendable, and is an example of an institution that has gone beyond talk and transitioned into action. The program's success is by no means guaranteed, but it should serve as an important test case for colleges throughout the rest of the nation, including Duke.
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