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Cultures of Music Piracy: An Ethnographic Comparison of the US and Japan
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“In 2003, the US recording industry initiated lawsuits against its own consumers in an effort to change what some view as a ‘culture of piracy.’ What is this culture of piracy and what is at stake in trying to change it? In this essay, I
take an ethnographic look at music file sharing, and compare the situation in the
US with Japan. My findings are based on fieldwork in Tokyo, and surveys and
discussions with US college students. By considering the ways social dynamics
and cultural orientations guide uses of digital media technology, I argue that a
legal and political focus on ‘piracy’ ignores crucial aspects of file sharing, and is
misleading in the assumptions it makes for policy.”