The sale of pirated compact discs is very common in Hong Kong, though many people know it is a crime to buy them.
The reasons for their buying the products are more or less the same. Pirated CDs’ low selling prices are a great attraction to most people. A pirated CD usually costs less than $20, while a genuine one is priced more than $100. The price difference drives people to buy pirated CDs rather than authentic ones.
Besides being cheap, many counterfeit CDs are of good quality which is another attraction. Hong Kong people are very smart. Once the quality of the pirated CDs is similar to the real ones’ and with a lower price, they know how to make the choice.
Easy accessibility also contributes to the increasing sale of fake CDs. One can easily purchase a fake CD in Mong Kok’s street stalls or even CD shops. Buying a fake CD sounds normal to many people.
The availability of the latest CDs and the large variety of CDs also help worsen the problem of the illegal trade. CD pirates even release their fake CDs earlier than the legal CD producers. Fans are keen on getting the latest releases and pirated CDs can satisfy their wants. Apart from getting the latest CDs, people can enjoy a large variety of CDs in black markets, too. It is not difficult to understand why pirated CDs are so popular in Hong Kong.
The sale of pirated CDs has become a threat to the survival of the music industry. Solutions must be worked out to remedy the situation.
The government should play a leading role to sink the CD pirates by imposing a sterner law on piracy. For example, the offenders should be imprisoned and fined heavily to let the offenders know that piracy is a serious crime.
Education is also essential to combat the problem. Schools should include the topic of piracy in the moral lessons. The mass media can help promote the message of respecting copyrights, too. Parents should teach their children not to buy fake CDs and the consequences of purchasing them.
What’s more, the music companies should lower the price of their products in order to maintain the competitiveness.
If we can firmly reject the pirated products, piracy problem will soon be tackled.