Maxim D. Littek and Dr. Jay Rush, Communications

File sharing applications are among the most popular and fastest growing software applications. Proponents of file sharing technology argue that these applications build community, transgress barriers, disintermediate, and have transformed assumptions about business, content, and culture. Nevertheless, file sharing applications are accused of stifling creative output and jeopardizing the future quality of music.

The question of how cyberspace is ‘shared’ is at the crux of scholarly debates and legal controversies over the application of intellectual property on the Internet. Copyright owners view file sharing as a threat to well established proprietary rules and fear a situation where the boundaries of copyright will be ‘uncontrollable trespassed’ in cyberspace (Committee on Intellectual Property, 2000).

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions and attitudes of users of file sharing applications as well as test correlation between intensity of use of such applications and attitudinal variables. The study further aimed to quantify the degree of awareness of unresolved legal issues involved and test awareness level against file sharing behavior. Information about attitudinal characteristics of users of file sharing applications should aid subsequent studies testing the impact of file sharing on copyright policy, the music industry, and intellectual property in general.

Study data were based on a regional convenience sample of 257 college and university students who use or have used file sharing applications. The survey yielded 132 respondents at Brigham Young University (BYU) and 125 respondents at Utah Valley Sate College (UVSC). Data was collected during March of 2001, using convenince sampling techniques.

Assuming a rapidly expanding prominence of file sharing due to customized, unpackaged, and, for now, inherently uncontrolled distribution of digital music, this research aimed to assess perceptions of users of file sharing applications who scorn the music industry being shielded, momentarily, of prosecution for infringing on prevailing copyright law. As previous research as indicated, frequent users of file sharing applications are among the most educated and affluent segments of music consumers, thus, by their behavior, asserting substantial pressure on the record industry.

This research hypothesized that certain demographic and social variables have a direct influence on the level of awareness of (a) the concept of copyright, (b) implications of file sharing, and (c) willingness to discontinue sharing copyrighted music files if this behavior is ruled illegitimate (H1). Secondly, the study hypothesized that awareness of copyright infringement issues poses inhibitory effects regarding use of file sharing applications to share copyrighted music (H2).

Thirdly, the author suspected that uncertainty regarding legitimacy of file sharing for the purpose of sharing copyrighted music has a measurable correlation with actual file sharing behavior (H3). The finding of a diminished role for demographics (H1) as an indicator of file sharing behavior in general is reflected in earlier studies (Reagon, 1987; Sparkes & Kang, 1986), suggesting a leveling of differences among technology adopters. Nevertheless, gender and the degree of experience with computer technology seemed to have predictive potency. Although no sufficient evidence was found to establish a direct relationship between awareness of copyright infringement issues and inhibitory effects regarding file sharing behavior (H2), statistical analysis of variance revealed a significant relationship between frequency of file sharing activity and augmentation of critical self-reflection regarding file sharing behavior. Assessment of respondents’ uncertainty regarding use of file sharing applications for the purpose of sharing copyrighted music (H3) was related to the following variables: perception of the legitimacy of sharing copyrighted music, the moral permissibility of sharing copyrighted music, and the perception of a self-regulating music market.

Generally, perceptions of file sharing activity were found to have predictive power of file sharing behavior in certain respects but not in others. Interestingly, frequency of file sharing activity was negatively related to perceptions regarding moral repercussions of sharing copyrighted music and positively related to perceptions regarding the necessity of copyright law. Since frequent users were more likely to perceive copyright law as necessary but less likely to hold the perception that sharing copyrighted music is immoral, this finding underlines a discrepancy between frequent and infrequent users that indicates potentially far-reaching implications for the music industry.

This study’s findings indicate that file sharing, due to the inherently unregulated nature of the Internet, is likely to flourish among those who oppose traditional distribution and pricing mechanisms of the music industry. Nevertheless, this study showed that even those engaging frequently in file sharing activity acknowledge the necessity of intellectual property protection to guarantee quality of creative output. In addition, this study found a notable high percentage of frequent file sharers who had not considered ethical dimensions of file sharing behavior. As a direct result of perceptional and attitudinal variables relating to or directly influencing file sharing behavior, the author suspects an emerging dichotomy between artist’s rights to commercialize on their creative output and the general public benefit.

Further research is needed to determine multiple indicators for these dimensions, beyond the limited number of attitudinal and file sharing use items used in this study. Subsequent research should also consider implications of file sharing behavior outside the scope of digital music.

References

1. Committee on Intellectual Property Rights and the Emerging Information Infrastructure (2000). The Digital Dilemma – Intellectual Property in the Information Age. Wasinghton, D.C.: National Academy Press (pp.76-96).
2. Reagan, J. (1987). Technology adoption: Is satisfaction the best predictor? Journalism Quarterly (p.68). 274
3. Sparks, V. & Kang, N. (1986). Public reaction to cable television: Time in the diffusion process. Journal of Broadcasting (p.30).