SINGAPORE: Raids worry online music fans

Police action against seven people suspected of downloading MP3s illegally sets Net abuzz

Straits Times
Thursday, October 12, 2006

By Chua Hian Hou

A chill seems to have descended on the online community following Sunday's police raids on the homes of seven people suspected of downloading online music illegally.

Online forums and blogs have attracted postings expressing concern about being caught. Some have declared they will stop ripping and sharing free music.

The recalcitrant few who suggested ways of escaping detection have received rebuttals that it is not that easy to cover electronic tracks.

Others hailed downloading as the most convenient way to get songs into their MP3 players and cellphones, and griped about the lack of legal sources.

A blogger named Marina asked whether there was a legal way for teenagers to download free songs, since they did not have credit cards to pay for legal music.

A post by someone nicknamed Litter lamented that "the good old days of downloading is (sic) really gone."

A blogger, Cai, warned others that a song bought and downloaded legally cost only $1, but getting caught for downloading a copyrighted song could jack up its cost to $10,000.

"And failing to pay will result in free long-term stay at Changi chalet," he quipped, referring to Changi Prison.

Not everyone is spooked, though. An advertising executive who wanted to be known only as Valerie, said she will stop for now -- but not because she is afraid of being caught.

"I already have all the songs I want -- for now," said the 23-year-old who has downloaded more than 4,000 songs since 1999.

And then there are the defiant ones: An IT consultant in his 20s who declined to be named said those who got caught were "stupid."

"They didn't know what software to use or how to hide their tracks. They got caught because they were easy to catch."

He boasted that he had two hard disks full of downloaded movies, including episodes from the third season of Lost, which has yet to make it here, and "pretty much any song you might want to hear from the 90s."

Dr Ang Peng Hwa, the dean of Nanyang Technological University's School of Communication and Information, said these responses were the expected ones.

"Some may stop, others may download less, but there will always be downloaders. After all, we hang murderers, but there are still murders here, right?"

He added, however, that people would now be careful, since the authorities have signalled their seriousness about tackling Internet piracy.

A 2005 Singapore Polytechnic study found that 60 per cent of people here aged 15 to 29 download music. And although they know it is illegal, they feel no guilt.

At least one person thinks they should.

Local hard rock band Ronin's lead singer Levan Wee, 24, said: "People should have a conscience. If you like something, then pay the people -- the artiste, the production people, the marketing folks -- for their hard work making it, rather than rip them off."

And those who say they download songs to "preview" them before buying are lying, he said.

"Ninety-five per cent of people who say this don't buy it in the end. The download stays on their hard disk on permanent 'preview.'"

When a global clampdown against the illegal distribution of music files took place last November, the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) worked through its Singapore arm, the Record Industry Association of Singapore (Rias) to raid 33 suspects' homes here.

Rias provided police with their Internet protocol (IP) addresses. It is not known how IFPI obtained the IP addresses.

The dragnet was aimed at people who uploaded music files using peer-to-peer software and then allowed others to download them.

This is a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, which brings up to five years in jail and $100,000 in fines.

Date Posted: 10/12/2006