Music industry officials have been repeating the same message for years: file-sharing peer-to-peer networks distribute pirated songs across the Internet in an exponential manner, which constitutes a violation of copyright. The fact that i downloaded Tori Amos through Kazaa the day before and i’m listening to her right now, makes me criminal. So far, so good. This is also true.
It’s not just that music is expensive. I like to listen to new music on the Internet first before purchasing the CDs. It’s likely that I will buy the CD if most of it is good. Radio stations play music in a similar way. The difference, however, is that it has become insanely easy for me to acquire almost-as-good-as-original quality mp3s of any track that I want to listen to, and even if I don’t pay a dime, no one is there to catch me.
It is no longer possible to hold people accountable. Most rational people would do what? The ease of finding music online through P2P has led to many people ignoring their social responsibility. The copy protection techniques on major CDs used by production houses have always been a little behind the most recent cracking algorithms. And efforts to prevent CD ripping and DVD rips has proven futile.
Downloads of legal music are available. More and more labels and musicians are offering pay-per download music services, disregarding the few ‘free legal’ tracks available to promote their products. The service allows you to purchase tracks, albums, and even complete albums online. Once you have made the payment, the music is downloaded and you are free to download it and use the music however you wish youtube converter.
Technologies are changing people’s perceptions and usage of music. Since the introduction of iPods, and other mp3 devices, people have grown accustomed carrying all their music around. Even though some players can hold up to 10,000 tracks. The record industry faces a number of frightening scenarios. It is very much feared that the CD format will soon be out-of-date. With the advancement of technology, the consumer’s demands regarding the best “medium” may also change.
Audio CDs had unmatched music quality until just a few decades ago. Record companies would use this to convince people to buy instead of download. The audio quality of today’s digital formats is equal or even better than CDs. In a few years, some experts predict CDs won’t exist anymore. Digital music is evolving to the point that we can access our entire collection of music (hopefully for a fee) anywhere we like: our cars, our homes, our offices, and even the beach. When paired with the promises of (and reality) audio quality, it is a threat to business as usual.