ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon the economic and social values associated with the formal distribution of music and informal circulation through narratives about piracy. The Indian Music Industry (IMI) attempt to combat the tide of piracy seemed to be stymied on all sides. The chapter suggests that the spectrum between valuing prestige or innovation provides yet another central axis for understanding the value negotiations that circulate around the consumption of musical recordings in India. The Gramophone Company exploited its monopoly on record production and distribution in India through its HMV (His Master's Voice) label. As Peter Manuel has extensively documented, the arrival of audiocassette technology led to drastic changes in the Indian music industry, changes that extended well beyond the disruption of the Gramophone Company of India (GCI) monopoly. The cultural historian Adrian Johns has documented the long history of intellectual piracy.
