"Audio piracy ends the journey of Bangladeshi music"

Bangladeshi musicians are venturing on to the world stage, but as Abdullah Al Hasan, 23, a Correspondent from Dhaka in Bangladesh writes, audio piracy is threatening that progress.

The peregrination of Bangladeshi music commenced a long way back. Through this trek Bangladesh has amassed many talented singers and musicians who are celebrated not only in Bangladesh – some have been eminent across the world. This cultural achievement has taken Bangladesh to prominence; people from different countries and regions now relish and listen to Bangladeshi music. This all stretched the expectation of Bangladeshi people to see their singers and musicians performing and participating in the most popular musical programs.

Surprisingly the scenario has turned upside-down lately. Singers who used to release new albums early and late, for the time being don’t seem desirous any more to work on new songs or release new albums. There are many other minor reasons, but the only major reason is audio piracy. Audio piracy is blighting singers and musicians who are reluctant to release new albums. It is also a stumbling-block for the new and prospective singers to carry on their dreams.

Audio piracy means when a singer releases an album, people collect it from one of many illicit sources instead of buying it. The main source is the Internet. Everything is procurable on the Internet including songs, albums, and music videos.

So Internet plays the most emergent role regarding audio piracy. Whenever a singer releases a new album, some people upload it on the internet and others just download and collect it from there for free. They never think twice about buying the album. A source like the Internet seems unencumbered and hassle free for people. People don’t need to go out, spend a single penny or any time to get it; they can easily collect it sitting in their house. People, obviously, make the best use of the chance that appears before them.

The upshot is very discouraging and frustrating. Five years ago Internet was widely available in Bangladesh. Singers, musicians and music-related people were not jittery about the future intimidation of the Internet. But the more it is becoming available, the more it is becoming improbable for professional singers to hold good.

Legendary singers of Bangladesh like Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin, Subir Nandi and many others are now afraid of working on new songs or albums. Some popular bands like LRB, Miles, Souls, and Warfaze seldom release new albums, which they used to do even a couple of years ago. New singers like Tahsan, Habib, Arnob, Topu and others are now receding because of piracy. New bands fail to earn a chance to show and uphold their work and dreams.

It takes a lot of effort, time and money to make and release an album. And after releasing it, when a singer doesn’t get any profit, no doubt he or she will become reluctant to work on an ineffective thing next time. Ultimately Bangladeshi people are getting bereaved of quality music from quality singers and musicians.

There are a lot of steps to stop this piracy, but the most important and effective is to change the mentality of people. In the developed countries, singers still make records by selling their albums and earning profit from them. If people alter their mentality, they can remedy the problem wholly. An album doesn’t cost too much; less than one dollar in Bangladesh. To keep the music industry brisk and let the singers subsist, people ought to set the trend of buying albums instead of looking for them on the Internet. People also should exhort others to do the same.

The government can also take some steps to stop audio piracy. It can strengthen a cyber team to stop audio piracy. There are many popular Bangladeshi websites that are the main sources to collect songs and music videos. The government can take action against them or put them under extreme supervision. The government should also drive various programs to educate people.

Singers can also promote themselves. Before releasing a new album, if they can catch their target markets through an emotional attachment, people will surely respond to them. Singers also should come up with new ideas to approach their audience more impressively. All the social media could be their main platform to grab the attention of people.

The music industry is the heartbeat of a country. Music is one of the most effective ways to let the rest of the world know about a specific country and culture. The Bangladeshi music industry is so prosperous: There are a lot of talented singers and musicians. If people want to let them go ahead, they should strictly avoid audio piracy. Every action will fail if people don’t take this into consideration.

Audio piracy will put an end to the journey of Bangladeshi music unless Bangladeshi people put an end to the aggression of audio piracy.

photo credit: beardenb via photopin cc
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About me:

Hi I’m from Bangladesh; the green land. Currently I’m studying marketing at North South University, Dhaka. I love to explore human minds. Writing is my favourite pastime. I always try to do research about people, politics, metaphysics, English and marketing.

I’m just an ordinary guy with some extra-ordinary dreams to be fulfilled. I believe a moment staying with family is just worth living. Friends are my oxygen.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?

To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/commonwealthcorrespondents/

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