Most, if not all, Tufts students have downloaded music onto their computer. Napster came onto the internet scene nearly six years ago and transformed the way college students listen to music. New music can be discovered more cheaply and easily, and the emergence of mp3 players allows students to have even more portable music.
Downloading legally, however, has not always been so easy. Legal avenues to download music are fairly recent, and have yet to become as widespread as Kazaa or Napster originally were in their day. The University issues warning to students sharing illegal material, and can revoke a student's internet account after a second offence. But, students only stop sharing their music and continue to download illegally.
Students who download files typically don't think of it as an illegal act. It's simply the easiest -- and cheapest -- way to listen to new music or rediscover songs long forgotten about. Illegal downloading continues because there is no viable, free alternative.
The University's new partnership with CDigix, announced yesterday by Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, is a welcome change for students. It is constructive progress made by the University. Instead of simply punishing students for downloading music, it gives them a legal alternative.
CDigix is far from perfect. Its incompatibility with Mac computers leaves out nearly 20 percent of the student body. Macs are rising in popularity with students, and the administration should take this into account when choosing new technology for the campus.
The program does not allow students to burn mp3s onto CDs or to mp3 players, either. Playing music on the computer is convenient, but many now expect to listen to songs on portable mp3 players, like the iPod. Students must now change their listening habits -- they can download as many songs as they like, but only buy the ones they want to hear all the time. It's a bit of a setback to the pre-mp3 age, but still gives the breadth of music genres students expect.
If students do decide to purchase a song, how much money will actually go to the artist? A common argument for illegal downloading says that most of the money made from record sales goes to the record label. If CDigix is to allow students to find new artists via downloading, it should ensure that any proceeds benefit the artists themselves and not a corporation.
CDigix's experience with other universities lends hope that it will succeed on the Tufts campus. Students may initially be wary of the fact that they can access, but not own, songs. But, college students can adapt quickly and a free, legal rental program will probably not be easy to turn down.
If Tufts wants to stop all illegal downloading, however, it should find a database of movies and television shows for students to download as well. Video downloads have greatly increased in popularity, even though some files are bootlegs of poor quality. Others, of DVD quality, allow some students to avoid paying high movie ticket prices or from buying their own copies.
It will probably be a while until we see a video download site akin to iTunes. Until then, students who are interested in staying legitimate should use CDigix. It allows for easy downloading, without the threat of disciplinary action by the University or outside legal authorities. Congratulations to the University for putting in the time and effort to find students an alternative for their music downloads.
