Free Music Downloads

Everyone enjoys some fresh new music. Music costs these days are going up, because artists and record companies have to make up for all the free music downloads and file sharing that goes around. There is an argument about whether or not free music downloading is helping or hurting the industry.

The group that thinks that the music industry is suffering from free music downloads, looks at all the stats and the number of free music going around, and think of what they would have earned if each of those songs or albums brought in money. They take this number and say this is what they are losing to online file sharing. Many people think that this kind of music downloading is unethical, because the consumer is not paying for the good or service that they are receiving, when otherwise they would pay to have the songs on a CD. There have been legal cases against Napster and other free music downloads sites for breaching copyright laws that protect the artist and record company. When people are getting it for free and doing what they want with the songs, the copyright laws are ignored and that protection is lost. There are literally millions of free music downloads throughout the United States every year. CD sales are declining. Of course, while CD sales are declining, sales of paid online music downloads are increasing. But the music industry argues that it is not enough to cover what they are losing, and that artists and record companies are being undercut and losing their credibility to sell anything when most consumers know that its possible to get a lot of songs for free.

While consumers are aware of the Napster case and ethical dilemmas involved, often they do not take a stand because online file sharing can be so easy. Some consumers and business analysts say that the free music downloads are not hurting the industry as much as it claims. When songs are shared freely online, it builds a fan base for artists. Consumers continue to pay high ticket prices for live concerts and events. It is argued that newer artists can get the attention and listening base necessary to break into a headlining music career by sharing free music downloads. Once consumers have gotten a couple of free songs from an artist they like, they will go ahead and buy more music from that artist because they are sure of liking it. Some online music companies offer free music downloads as a bonus with purchase of other songs or other comparable items to bring in the free-searching listeners. When big record companies complain about losing money, much of the time it falls on deaf ears because, even though there are many people involved in the studio and technical supporting process required for a song to top the charts, the artist themselves and the record executives get the vast majority of the profit pie. The support personnel are not in high paying positions, whether or not the music is being shared for free, and those who are making profit are raking in millions, so please don't argue to us about a $0.75 song.

This is a complex conversation about the economics of the music industry and its consumers, but both sides of the argument are strong. As technology is improving, the music sector of the media industry is getting pressures to change how it makes money. Businesses will get creative with their profitability opportunities, and consumers will demand a middle ground. Over the next couple of years we will see where that takes us.