Napster on Books

The demonstration of sharing media with friends led to an interesting discussion on the ethics of file sharing. As students swapped one CD for another the question was asked, "Is this ethically wrong?" Someone mentioned that this situation is no different than sharing books. I thought this was a very interesting point. No one has a problem when you get done with a book and let a friend borrow it. No one would say you're stealing literature, the publishing companies aren't up in arms about it, and no one can take legal action against you. Yet, isn't this even worse than sharing music? If you borrow a friends CD, and you love it, chances are, you're going to go out and buy a copy for yourself so you can listen to it whenever, and as much as you want. But how often do you read a book more than once? If your friend lends you their book, even if you really enjoyed it, you're probably not going to go out and buy a copy just so you can have it in your library. Think about all the money authors and publishing companies are losing; a CD usually costs $13, but what about a book? Most books cost $20 or more! Publishing companies end up losing more money per book that is shared than the music industry loses for CDs. Jason makes another great point; he reminded me that recording artists can benefit when their music is shared. They make a lot of money by touring, and if they can sell out concerts because of increasing popularity, they end up making money, not losing it. How does an author benefit by having their book shared? They don't; the only time they make money is when their book is actually purchased. Now, I can't say that I am not guilty of sharing books, but it makes you think doesn't it?