Legit downloads

Digital music piracy has been on the rise, and we're not surprised that students' music downloading habits have been met with tough action on the part of university administrators.

But it's time to be on the offensive in the digital music age and not run and hide from new technologies. That is why this page believes that the university should provide incentives and programs that promote legal music sharing.

Students might have to think long and hard to remember last time they purchased an audio CD or single. Indeed, it's likely that the numbers of CDs they have purchased in recent years has declined.

The Recording Industry Association of America, in a 2003 report, finds that purchases in music stores have declined by more than 20 percentage points over the past 10 years, while music purchases on the Internet are slowly rising.

The availability of digital MP3 music, the Internet and portable music players have almost eliminated traditional methods of enjoying music.

But music piracy, which the recording and movie industries have cracked down on in recent years with harsh lawsuits, won't go away unless students too see an economic benefit that doesn't involve a slap on the wrist from university administrators.

In fact, some of the biggest firms in the industry, such as Apple, Microsoft and even Wal-Mart, are courting students to buy songs legitimately, USA TODAY reported in August.

This means that Santa Clara should get students on board the legit music downloading bandwagon. Penn State and Cornell students already have access to "free" downloadable music, which is really subsidized with tuition dollars. But this is still the right idea: Universities are finding solutions besides after-the-fact punishments.

Offering legitimate methods of music downloading is not unrealistic. One step in removing the MP3 black-market label would to make music easier and more lawful to receive.