About My Term Research Paper

I loved this research paper! The only thing that I'm upset about is that I couldn't include all of the information from my research. Some of the articles I found were up to 60 pages long so of course I had to pick and choose where my information came from, since I was pulling info from 10 sources. However, each source was incredibly useful for my paper but also brought up a lot of great conversation starters at the studio while I was in the middle of research.

How you did your research

Well, I use Google Scholar as well as the Baruch library databases. Some of my search terms included: streaming music, music piracy, p2p, illegal filesharing, etc. After that I would read the abstract of the article, or just skim the entire article (if it was short enough) to decide on whether I would use it for my project. I had a general outline for how I wanted my paper to go and so as I was reading through each of my sources I would highlight with a different color (I'm OCD sometimes) of which section I wanted the information to end up in my paper.

What you found in your research; what you learned

I was able to learn the definitions behind the terms mp3, p2p, filesharing. I was also able to read about a lot of statistics that help to predict that perhaps streaming music can serve as a solution to music piracy. My research provided me with information about the various legislation that has been put in place to block music piracy, which is useful if I ever decide to take entertainment law.

Why you chose your topic

I chose my topic because I'm always trying to apply my schoolwork to my desired career. I am already working in the music business yet there is so much more to learn. If I'm going to write 10 pages and research through 10 sources I want to be able to use the information that I've gathered even after I submit the assignment.

Your major findings / conclusions

My biggest finding was that it seems that the record labels attempts have often been futile when trying to fight the piracy problem. However, when embracing the digital era, they seem to have been more successful. Also, as we've learned in class, forms of new media are constantly developing and improving upon themselves in order to appeal to the largest audience. I feel that music piracy was a predecessor to the idea of streaming music, and over time, in an attempt to appease the labels and the legal aspect, the media fixed and transformed itself into a medium that still attracted the music fans but also made a profit and remained legal.

How your paper contributes to the field of "new media"

My paper contributes to new media because, as I mentioned before, it is an example of how new media builds upon itself and develops over time. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before piracy transformed itself into streaming. Streaming music is piracy without the downloading aspect, and it offers users a faster way to access music. However, it also makes money with advertisements or a monthly fee that avoids the website from being considered an illegal application. My paper also mentions other forms of new media, search enginers such as Google, the video-sharing website Youtube.com, as well as explains the emergence of music piracy, which is perhaps the most damaging form of new media to exist in the realm of the music industry.