To Download or Not to Download: Is there a Question?
by Kristin Jorge
Ever since the days of Napster and all its counterparts, the music industry has been in an uprising over downloading, with more and more individuals taking sides everyday. In one corner, headed by Metallica and Microsoft, we have those who are adamantly against the downloading of music, especially for free. In the other corner, we have Linkin Park and various other bands that are blatantly defending the downloading of music. However, there is a large group of people standing in the middle, either because they are confused about the issue or because they do not care enough and nonchalantly ignore the issue.
In an age where downloading is as easy as typing a name, hitting download, and listening to the songs on your Ipod two minutes later, the controversy is becoming more and more prevalent. Music downloading is the norm, whether legal or illegal, which unfortunately fuels the fire. While many individuals in the music industry are against downloading, it is usually under the pretext that it is being done for free: i.e. illegally. Artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre have voiced their opinions that free downloading websites promote the theft of their work. With the removal of Napster’s free downloading in 2001, many downloading websites, including Napster and Itunes, have made songs and albums available for a small fee (usually about one dollar per song) in order to comply with new laws and regulations of the music industry and government. Yet, with the continuation of lawsuits against individuals who pirate music in a high quantity, it is obvious that not everyone agrees with placing fees on a song you can hear just as easily by humming it out loud.
So far, the major critique against free music downloading is that it takes valuable money away from the music artists and industry. Lawsuits arise quite frequently from individuals who feel that they are losing money because consumers are no longer going to actual stores, or even websites like Amazon, to buy CDs. In spite of that, is it really the artists who are losing the money or the record labels themselves? As educated consumers, most people doubt that the music industry will collapse from a few lost dollars. This is especially true when the relatively low price of a new CD, which costs so little to manufacture and distribute, is compared to the massive amount of money the industry gets from concert tickets that can go for hundreds of dollars depending on the artist and venue. While a few dollars per individual may not seem like a lot of money to be lost, the amount rises to staggering proportions when the statistics are viewed from a global perspective.
While most people would prefer to download a song for free, or even at the cost of a dollar instead of sixteen, they need to take into account why CDs cost that much. Of course there is probably some inflation of the price, whether because of greed or just because of middle men, but the price of one CD has to be divided among many contributors. The sixteen dollars received from the sale of a CD has to be distributed among the recording artist, the record label, and the retailer etc.. This money is then put towards various expenses such as salaries, marketing, advertising, instruments, and recording equipment, not to mention the price of the copyright. The question still arises about how much money CD sales actually provide when compared to concert sales and merchandise sales. It has been mentioned by various individuals within the music industry, such as Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars, that the money garnered from CD sales may not be the true issue. While it is mentioned that CD sales may not provide much money, the lack of sales does affect the artists indirectly. Record labels look to CD sales as a way of budgeting which of their artists get the most money, time, and support for further endeavors, development, and touring. Record labels judge success by CD sales along with certain other measures, so if a band does not sell many CDs, they do not get as much support for touring, which eventually trickles down to the fans who have less concerts to go to.
On the other side of the fence, we have the promoters of free downloading who consist of almost all of the consuming public as well as certain people in the music industry. There are quotes from artists such as Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park who say “download that ****,” while many groups purposefully place their music on the internet for downloading. Many new artists utilize the internet and downloading websites to get their music out to the public, especially because most individuals will not spend money on an artist they have never heard of. Once the artist has made some money they may be more restrictive in their downloading policy, but they still tend to remember how it helped them and are therefore not too harsh on the process.
A report done by the digital research company Webnoize suggests that about 62% of college students in the United States continue to use websites to download illegal material. The incentives to pay for something tend to be rather small when the availability of a free product is still so readily available. It is interesting to note that most studies focus on college students because they are the generation of the computer and are the most likely age group to download music. Yet, college students also tend to be rather in need of money, since most of their assets are in the form of student loans. This may account for their need of free downloads. According to the consumers, the main reason for buying CDs is usually not so much about giving money to the artists, but more about the extra content on the CD or access to special features provided to the buyer for spending money on it. These features can include access to special online fan clubs, pre-released songs, meet-and-greet opportunities, and discounts on further merchandise purchases. In the self-centered society we live in it is not as much about helping the artists as it is about what we get in return for spending our precious money on their product.
Even if money is an issue there are ways around this dilemma. If funds are low, or even if they are not, individuals should be able to download music to hear new bands, or at least to listen to songs they cannot, at the moment, afford to buy on a CD. However, when it is possible, the individual should go out and buy the actual CD to show support for the artists they like until this matter is resolved. It is the consumer’s responsibility to help maintain the music industry so that concerts and tours are possible. Basically, download now, but buy it later as well!
