Sinking the Online “Music Pirates:” Foucault, Power and Deviance on the Web

It is concluded that the significance of these online struggles is embedded not only in their outcomes but also in the processes leading to them, and changes to a discourse guiding trading conditions between the Recording Industry and end-users have been noted, constituting a victory for the latter.

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate power relations between corporate elites and online music file-sharers on the Web. By documenting changes in discourse occurring between 1998 and 2004 over the labeling of music file-sharing as deviant, it seeks to unveil how power machinates in establishing the parameters between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors In doing so, Foucault's work on power is used as a starting point for investigating strategies employed by corporate elites and file-sharers in order to shift the balance of power. The contest between discourses seeking to restrict or enhance the capacities of free agents in online environments is evidenced in the mutability of a legal discourse seeking to normalize online life. Until now, how the online "music pirates" should be disciplined is in a state of flux where certain developments appear to be favoring corporate interests and others, the interests of music file-sharers. In this struggle, online discourses seeking to curtail freedoms and opportunities advanced by corporate elites and online discourses of freedom purported by music file-sharers, are reversible. This reversibility suggests that online, some offline discourses would be a hindrance and as such, their agents could resist the dominant online discourse by engaging in creative behaviors. Likewise, traversing offline producer-led discourses with innovative and creative actions online could lead to consumers' autonomy. This paper concludes that the significance of these online struggles is embedded not only in their outcomes but also in the processes leading to them. Thus, while attempts to curb these online practices and freedoms persist, changes to a discourse guiding trading conditions between the Recording Industry and end-users have been noted, constituting a victory for the latter.