Mark Razmov rolls out of bed and turns on his radio to hear “Spiderwebs,” a song by the band No Doubt. The 17-year-old Thornhill student hasn’t heard that song since the summer. He puts on a shirt and heads to his basement where his computer is on as always, and passes his mother eating lunch. He opens Kazaa, the most popular file-sharing program, and types “Spiderwebs.” Six seconds pass and a list of 100 Spiderwebs files from other Kazaa users appears. Some files have different file sizes, but they all share the same name. He saves one to his computer. As he waits for the song to download, he chats with his friends, plays a hand of poker, and reads the latest music news — all on his computer. When his song is ready, Razmov double-clicks the file. He bobs his head up and down — dancing while sitting in his chair. With the chorus a few beats away, Razmov suddenly covers his ears, as a shrieking sound replaces Gwen Stefani’s divine voice. “Where is the middle of the song?” Razmov asks.

Type. Click. Listen. No good. Downloading music used to be easy, but not anymore.

Illegal downloaders, referred to as “pirates,” face a challenge when they attempt to acquire illegal MP3s, music files with CD-quality sound. Record labels hire companies such as Overpeer, NetPD, and Covenant, to spread corrupted files across peer-to-peer programs like Kazaa, where any computer user with internet access can trade music files. These corrupted files have existed for four years, but because of an increased effort to eliminate illegal downloading on behalf of record companies, have become more common in recent months. They either contain part of the song on a consecutive loop, or a few seconds and then a screeching sound, such as the file that Razmov came across. Companies hope that these files will spread to so many users’ computers, that whenever someone downloads a song, they will get a corruption, which have become known as spoofs. The aim is to frustrate downloaders and force them to give up and purchase the music.

Covenant even pays downloaders to help spread spoofed files. Covenant clones a genuine song, but replaces about 20 per cent with a message that tells the downloader to visit their web site, which provides more information on MP3s and the artist, such as 3 Doors Down. While pirates see record labels and the companies they hire as enemies, and vice versa, Covenant hopes to bring them aboard to stop the animosity. “The music industry needs to be going into this digital realm, away from physical medium,” says Covenant’s CEO Jim Meier. “Showing a kid a CD these days is like showing them a rotary phone.” The record labels have been slow to embrace the MP3 technology. Finally last year, the major labels finally agreed to license their music to online stores, such as iTunes and Puretracks, which sell the songs for about 99 cents each.

On his quest to find a real copy of “Spiderwebs,” Razmov doesn’t encounter a friendly Covenant file. His second attempt results in more screeching. He takes a deep breath, and shakes his head from side to side. Although frustrated, Razmov isn’t going to start paying for the files. “Why pay when I can get them for free? I don’t have money to waste,” he says. He tries another file.

According to Meier, Covenant realizes it cannot fully stop the illegal transfer of music files, but it tries to put a dent in the volume. Some files that they have spoofed have had a 95 per cent protection rate (meaning attempts to download songs with which they have meddled will usually fail).

The amount of downloads on Kazaa, however, has never been higher, according to company spokesperson Richard Chernela. He says Kazaa has always seen steady increases in the amount of downloading. Spoofing, he says, is ineffective. “There are no limits to the imagination of those who want to kill peer-to-peer technology.” The Barenaked Ladies leaked some files to the Internet a few weeks prior to the 2000 release of their “Maroon” album, but inserted a message in the middle of the song thanking them for their interest. Madonna used a similar approach last year prior to the release of “American Life,” but yelled obscenities instead of expressing gratitude. Of course, if the ultimate goal of spoofing is ever achieved and people stop downloading illegally, Kazaa would lose millions.

Illegal downloading also costs the record labels a lot of money, so much so that it is nearly impossible to derive a figure. Artists have always been divided on the MP3 controversy, since the transfer of files creates a “buzz” for new acts. Artists can make money off touring, other merchandise, and sponsorships. The record labels, however, depend on high sales of albums to make money. Therefore, it is in their best interest to try to stop the sharing of illegal MP3s. That is why it is the labels, not the artists, that approach the companies to create spoofs.

Chris Hesse, the drummer for the platinum-selling band Hoobastank, thinks spoofing is a good start to abolishing, or at least decreasing, illegal downloading. “[Downloading illegally] affects bands immensely,” he says, believing that without downloading, his band would sell more units. “Most people who are downloading know that but I don?t think they understand that,” he says. Hoobastank’s recent hit single, “The Reason,” was put through the distortion machine. Sam Farrar, the bassist for Los Angeles-based Phantom Planet, doesn?t want to see his music tampered with either, but like Hoobastank’s members, he has no choice. Columbia Records spoofed their recent self-titled album without consulting the band. “I’d rather if people are going to download it, download. It shouldn?t be fucked with,” he says. Farrar realizes that spoofing is merely an annoyance, not a deterrence. “If the labels want to try and stop it with this stuff, they can,” he says, almost mockingly, “but it’s not going to work.”

Spoofing does not work against Razmov. His third attempt works perfectly and his bopping continues. A few minutes are wasted from his day, but he now possesses a perfect copy of “Spiderwebs.”






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