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Piracy, in cultural realm, means that large media corporations stifle local cultural production by taking over marketing and distribution channels, thus destroying the businesses of local distributors who offer more culturally diverse and more local goods (Medosch, 2008: 80). Pirates can be: commercial DVD and VCD pirates, file-sharers, downloaders etc.

Despite the commercial purpose of piracy, it has fulfilled some crucial cultural functions.

For the people who live under the legacies of colonialism or imperialism, piracy provides them the access to art movies and difficult fare which do not get official distribution (Medosch, 2008: 81). Like people in North Korea, the communist government doesn’t allow some international fare from capitalist countries to be officially brought in. While people there can only access to these fare through some illegal pirates, which are copied through some illegal ways.

And pirate becomes a connoisseur who caters to sophisticated tastes and needs in some less developed areas (Medosch, 2008: 81). In these areas, only the mainstream popular fare gets the official distribution for its huge commercial profits. Less popular fare with sophisticated tastes is hardly to get because they are not beneficial enough for the major market. For instance, the local theatres may give up introducing in international art house movies since it costs higher than the gross. While piracy costs much less so pirate may copy them in some way. Thus the interested local people can only get them from piracy market.

On the other hand, piracy is also a counter-hegemonic force to empower cheap labor and allow long-marginalized population to realize their civil rights (Medosch, 2008: 82). Since the piracy doesn’t need to pay for the copyright neither insure the pirate’s quality with some expensive equipment, it costs much less. Thus the pirate may be priced so low to be afforded by cheap labor with their low income. Thus they can bargain for a pirate since it’s cheap and they can buy it anyway. Also, since piracy has extended from software to hardware and bandwidth, some marginalized area is able to build some internet café for local people (favelas in Brazil) (Medosch, 2008: 82). Again, the only reason they can do is that piracy is cheaper. And local people get the chance to explore the Internet and enjoy new media. Such access to services and information brought by the piracy ensures their civil rights.

International Piracy Market. From Worldnews.com (article.wn.com).

In mainstream area, piracy also helps the fulfillment of the cultural function like downloading music. Firstly digital music files provide the users greater access to music, they can explore unfamiliar territory and discover new favorite music genre. “Instead of seeking out particular pieces, one initiates an intentionally general search in hope of broad and unfamiliar results” (Vatz, 2004: 166). Secondly, downloading allows flexibility to customize users’ musical experience. They don’t need to accept the whole album gadget from a CD. However, they are able to “burn” the playlists to create a personalized creation (Vatz, 2004: 166). Thirdly, downloaders can even alter the very sound of their MP3s through various free softwares online. And listeners can become amateur sound engineers or composers (Vatz, 2004: 166). Last but not least, users of the technology are connecting to one another and forming musical communities. Since the physical distance collapses in front of the possibilities of file sharing.

Music Download Website. From detoxdesign.co.uk.

Reference

Armin Medosch, ‘Paid in Full: Copyright, Piracy and the Real Currency of Cultural Production’, in Deptforth. TV Diaries II: Pirate Strategies, London: Deptforth TV, 2008.

Mark Vatz, Capturing Sound: How Technology has Changed Music. Berkeley: US Press, 2004.