Sharing as Piracy: The Digital Future of Music

Abstract

In 1994, Enigma produced the international hit album, The Cross of Changes, which sold over 6 million copies worldwide. The title song, “Return to Innocence,” was integrated into numerous commercials and even played at the Olympics; but had an ironic twist. Taiwanese singers, Difang and Agay, discovered that their voices appeared on the “Return to Innocence” track without their permission. The singers, part of the indigenous Ami tribe, had been recorded while giving a concert in France. In 1988, the Maison des Cultures du Monde (MCM) produced a CD entitled Polyphonies vocals des Aborigènes de Taiwan, on which the singers’ “Jubilant Drinking Song” appeared. Enigma purchased the rights to use a recording of Difang and Agay from MCM. While permission for use of the musical material was granted, the French agency did not actually control the rights they granted, the folk singers were never asked for permission, and royalties were not directed their way (Story 2002: 138; Wong 1999).