The following is a transcript of a statement made by a recording industry executive at an
industry conference:
“The music recording industry is suffering grave economic losses due to the widespread piracy
of digital music. This fate was an inevitable result of the industry’s misguided decision to
switch from the analogue format of vinyl records to the digital formats used today on compact
disks and computer files. Copying a vinyl record requires expensive and bulky machinery,
whereas anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can start up a music piracy business.
To boost music revenues, the recording industry should switch entirely back to the
analogue format of vinyl records. Also, I can state with complete authority that music just
sounds better on a vinyl record.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion, be sure to analyze the
line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to
consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative examples
or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence
would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more
logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
The above argument that the music industry should switch entirely back to vinyl format for music records is flawed in several respects. Firstly, once the music on vinyl is digitized, distributing the pirated music is just as easy as transferring data taken from any other source. Secondly, the cost of producing and distributing vinyl records is much greater than the cost of doing so for CDs. Finally, the statement that music sounds better on vinyl is subjective and not factual. In short, although there are some benefits to using vinyl records, the proposal to switch completely to vinyl format is not a reasonable one.
Firstly, from a technical perspective, even though digitizing a vinyl record is a bit more expensive than copying CDs, once the music is digitized, distributing the pirated music is just as easy as transferring any other kind of data. As long as a few people own the equipment for digitization of vinyl records, those few people can make all of the music on vinyl available on the internet. In order to stop piracy of their music, record companies would have to either completely prevent the digitization of their records, or completely prevent the distribution of online music. Using vinyl format instead of CDs would do little towards such prevention; thus, the hypothetical switch to the vinyl format would do little good for the music industry in terms of piracy.
Another drawback of using vinyl is increased cost, There are several costs associated with producing and selling music records: manufacturing, shipping, and storage cost, to name a few. Such costs are usually higher for vinyl. Since vinyl records are larger, they use more materials in the manufacturing process, which means increased raw materials cost. Moreover, the music industry would have to bear the burden of capital expenditures for new machinery that can produce vinyl records instead of CDs. Since vinyl records are bigger and heavier than CDs, they also cost more to ship. Given that shipping costs are on a steady long-term rise, such costs could be quite significant. Finally, warehouses and retail stores would be able to store less music per square foot of space, and this means that ultimately less music is distributed and sold. Clearly, the issue of cost is a significant negative in the debate for switching to vinyl.
The final flaw of the above argument is the subjective statement that music sounds better on vinyl. Not only is such a statement obviously subjective, but from a technical perspective, a CD can hold much more audio data than a vinyl record, which means better quality. The person making the argument cites no statistical proof of the majority of people concurring on his/her opinion that music sounds better on vinyl, nor does he/she explain why he/she has authority to make such a statement. Thus, It is better to rely on the objective fact that a CD holds more audio data than to rely on the opinion of the person making the argument.
In conclusion, from the music industry’s perspective, the drawbacks of switching to vinyl format for music records far outweigh any benefits. Whether from a technical perspective, or a cost perspective, vinyl is an inferior format. If the industry wishes to contain problems such as piracy, perhaps music executives should look at potentially partnering with Youtube or Yahoo Music. Perhaps the music industry should welcome the age of digital music, not fight against it.
industry conference:
“The music recording industry is suffering grave economic losses due to the widespread piracy
of digital music. This fate was an inevitable result of the industry’s misguided decision to
switch from the analogue format of vinyl records to the digital formats used today on compact
disks and computer files. Copying a vinyl record requires expensive and bulky machinery,
whereas anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can start up a music piracy business.
To boost music revenues, the recording industry should switch entirely back to the
analogue format of vinyl records. Also, I can state with complete authority that music just
sounds better on a vinyl record.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion, be sure to analyze the
line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to
consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative examples
or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence
would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more
logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
The above argument that the music industry should switch entirely back to vinyl format for music records is flawed in several respects. Firstly, once the music on vinyl is digitized, distributing the pirated music is just as easy as transferring data taken from any other source. Secondly, the cost of producing and distributing vinyl records is much greater than the cost of doing so for CDs. Finally, the statement that music sounds better on vinyl is subjective and not factual. In short, although there are some benefits to using vinyl records, the proposal to switch completely to vinyl format is not a reasonable one.
Firstly, from a technical perspective, even though digitizing a vinyl record is a bit more expensive than copying CDs, once the music is digitized, distributing the pirated music is just as easy as transferring any other kind of data. As long as a few people own the equipment for digitization of vinyl records, those few people can make all of the music on vinyl available on the internet. In order to stop piracy of their music, record companies would have to either completely prevent the digitization of their records, or completely prevent the distribution of online music. Using vinyl format instead of CDs would do little towards such prevention; thus, the hypothetical switch to the vinyl format would do little good for the music industry in terms of piracy.
Another drawback of using vinyl is increased cost, There are several costs associated with producing and selling music records: manufacturing, shipping, and storage cost, to name a few. Such costs are usually higher for vinyl. Since vinyl records are larger, they use more materials in the manufacturing process, which means increased raw materials cost. Moreover, the music industry would have to bear the burden of capital expenditures for new machinery that can produce vinyl records instead of CDs. Since vinyl records are bigger and heavier than CDs, they also cost more to ship. Given that shipping costs are on a steady long-term rise, such costs could be quite significant. Finally, warehouses and retail stores would be able to store less music per square foot of space, and this means that ultimately less music is distributed and sold. Clearly, the issue of cost is a significant negative in the debate for switching to vinyl.
The final flaw of the above argument is the subjective statement that music sounds better on vinyl. Not only is such a statement obviously subjective, but from a technical perspective, a CD can hold much more audio data than a vinyl record, which means better quality. The person making the argument cites no statistical proof of the majority of people concurring on his/her opinion that music sounds better on vinyl, nor does he/she explain why he/she has authority to make such a statement. Thus, It is better to rely on the objective fact that a CD holds more audio data than to rely on the opinion of the person making the argument.
In conclusion, from the music industry’s perspective, the drawbacks of switching to vinyl format for music records far outweigh any benefits. Whether from a technical perspective, or a cost perspective, vinyl is an inferior format. If the industry wishes to contain problems such as piracy, perhaps music executives should look at potentially partnering with Youtube or Yahoo Music. Perhaps the music industry should welcome the age of digital music, not fight against it.
