Is the music industry changing to the great extent that we all read about? Alternatively, is it fair to say that industry monopolies and forms of cooption are persisting as they always have? These seem to be the two poles in an ongoing debate. My presentation, drawing on the theories of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, will suggest that the transformations currently taking place in the recording industry are much more complex than either of these positions suggest. To get a picture of how the industry both evolves and resists change, I will specifically look at the notion of ‘piracy’ - and attempt to compare and contrast the offshore pirates that broadcasted into England in the 1960s with the internet downloaders of today. To what extent does piracy drive and inspire change? In what ways have the pirates and their methods been absorbed into the industry? How are the power dynamics both within and between the major labels evolving? I will consider how these shifts in the music industry might be indicators of larger transformations taking place inside contemporary capitalism. Assuming that this clandestine activity both challenges and shapes the business of music, I will consider what this might mean for the future of the recording industry.